March 6 was a day of intense matches on the various courts of the Palais des Sports. The main draw matches saw the best players compete in singles and doubles, both men and women, as well as in mixed doubles. Here is a detailed summary of the results..
Men Single (MS)
The men's singles category saw the top seeds confirm their status with clear wins. Lee Zii Jia (1) showed great mastery against Kidambi Srikanth, winning 21-11, 21-17. Lin Chun-Yi (2) also came up trumps against Lakshya Sen, despite a more closely contested second set (21-9, 21-19). Kenta Nishimoto (5) showed exemplary solidity to beat Jeon H J 21-17, 21-16. A surprise came from Nguyen, who took advantage of Tanaka's withdrawal when he was well ahead. Rasmus Gemke, not seeded, dominated Kodai Naraoka, creating an opportunity for him in the tournament..
Woman Single (WS)
The women's singles draw was marked by the domination of the favourites. An Se Young (1) totally outclassed P. Choikeewong, giving her no chance with a crushing score of 21-8, 21-4. The South Korean continues her unblemished run and remains a serious contender for the title. Kirsty Gilmour, who was not among the top seeds, nevertheless secured her qualification by beating Lo S Y H 21-10, 21-12. T. Miyazaki (5) had to work hard to eliminate A. Takahashi, but showed her experience at the end of the set (21-16, 21-18). The big surprise came from B. Zhang, who managed to eliminate P. Chochuwong (4) in a disputed match (21-19, 21-17), thus creating an unexpected opening in this part of the draw. Riko Gunji, on the other hand, came out on top against Lin H T, 21-8, 21-12..
Men Double (MD)
The men's doubles offered several close encounters and confirmations for the seeded pairs. Kang M H & Ko D J had to fight hard to overcome Hi Chiu & Wang C L (7) in an intense duel that ended in three sets (21-19, 20-22, 22-20). Jiang W K & Wang C (1) lived up to their billing by easily beating Chiang K C & Po L W 21-12, 21-15. The pair J. Arif & R. Yap (8) also booked their place in the next round by beating Chen Z Y & P. Smith in two sets (21-18, 21-11). Lee J H & Yang P H (4) were unflappable, beating Krishnamurthy Roy & S. Pratheek K 21-16, 21-13. Pratheek K. Finally, G. Grimley & M. Grimley passed a tough test against Sun W J & Zhu J, winning in three sets (21-17, 19-23, 21-17).
Women Double (WD)
In the women's doubles draw, the seeded players showed great consistency. Fukushima & Matsumoto (5) showed their strength by giving Chang C H & Yang C T no chance, 21-15, 21-15. Baek H N & Lee S H, although not seeded, impressed with their domination against E. Jacob & A. Tran (21-8, 21-9). For their part, A. Rahayu & S. Ramadhanti had to work hard to overcome J. Finne-Ipsen & M. Surrow in a tight duel (21-18, 21-19). The pair Yeung N T & Yeung P L (4) did not disappoint, defeating A. Kuduk & S. Schulz in two well-controlled sets. (21-13, 21-17). Gop P K & Teoh M K, in a more complicated match, won in three sets against M. Puspitasari & R. Rose (21-18, 15-21, 21-8).
Mixte Double (XD)
The mixed doubles offered several hotly contested matches and a few surprises. Midorikawa & Saito (4) confirmed their status by beating Zhu Y J & Zhang C 21-17, 21-15. On the other hand, Hidayatullah & Pasaribu were eliminated by J. Toft & A. Magelund (5), who were solid on key points (13-21, 21-16, 11-21). A. Maulana & J. Jamil were unflappable and came out on top against Lu K H & Jheng Y C (21-13, 21-14). Hoo P R & Cheng S Y (6) needed three sets to defeat M. Lu & Hung E T in a tense duel (16-21, 21-13, 21-16). Finally, Kapoor & Gadder S benefited from a forfeit against Yang P H & Hu L F, giving them direct access to the next round.
Analysis and key facts
- The top seeds were there in force, with An Se Young (1) and Lee Zii Jia (1) in particular running smoothly.
- There were some notable surprises, notably the elimination of P. Chochuwong (4) in the women's singles and the defeat of Hidayatullah & Pasaribu in the mixed doubles.
- There were many close matches, particularly in the men's doubles and mixed doubles, with several matches going to three sets, demonstrating the high level of competition.
With these results, the next rounds promise to be intense, with clashes between the favourites and the outsiders in full confidence. The tournament is now entering a decisive phase, where every match will count double to reach the semi-finals..
