June 15, 2010
Dimitrij Ovtcharov and Yu Meng Yu Head Seeding at Indian Open
 Dimitrij Ovtcharov unleashes his trademark backhand service Photo By: Rémy Gros |
Courtesy of ITTF Dimitrij Ovtcharov, 22 years old, is yet to win a Men’s Singles title on the ITTF Pro Tour; he has threatened, recorded fine results but as of yet has not broken the finishing tape in first place. |
The European Youth Champion in Ostrava in 2005, the closest to date was in January 2009 in Frederikshaven when at the Danish Open he reached the final, losing to China’s Ma Long, the current world no.1.
Success against China
Notably in that tournament, he beat Ma Long’s colleague, Zhang Jike, in the semi-finals, a young man who has shot to fame in recent months.
Such is his pedigree that Liu Guoliang, the Chinese Men’s National Team coach, selected Zhang Jike for the final of the Men’s Team event at the recent Liebherr World Team Championships in Moscow.
The faith placed by Liu Guoliang was duly rewarded; in the crucial third match of the fixture, Zhang Jike beat Christian Süss to give China a vital two-one lead.
Worthy Wins
Certainly, the victory over Zhang Jike is a success to note and underlines the fact that Ovtcharov is a threat against Asian and notably Chinese adversaries.
On the ITTF Pro Tour he has a win to his credit over three times Men’s Singles World champion, Wang Liqin and at this year’s German Open, he stole the show by Xu Xin.
Commonwealth Champion Seeded No.2
Seeded no.2 is 27 year old Gao Ning, the winner of the Men’s Singles title at the Commonwealth Championships in 2009 and a man with a liking for New Delhi. He won the Men’s Singles event at the Indian Open in 2007 when the tournament was staged in New Delhi.
Patrick Baum, Ovtcharov’s colleague, is the no.3 seed with a quartet of next generation Koreans providing a major challenge for honors.
Korean and Belgian Challenge
Nineteen year old Seo Hyun Deok is seeded no.4, followed 18 year old Km Min Seok and 19 year old Lee Sang Su while Jung Young Sik is at no.9.
Youth, that is tempered by experience, Singapore’s Yang Zi, slightly older at 26 years of age is seeded no.7 with the eighth seed being the voice of experience; the one and only Jean-Michel Saive, now 40 years old.
India’s Hope
Leading the Indian challenge is 29 year old Sharath Kamal Achanta; he is the no.10 seed.
Singapore Seeking More Success
Meanwhile, leading the female challenge is 20 years old, Yu Meng Yu, the defending champion who won one year ago in Indore.
Halcyon days for Singapore having won the Corbillon Cup in Moscow and one member of the trio who played in that historic final could well prove to be one of Yu Meng Yu’s major adversaries.
Sun Bei Bei is seeded no.3 behind Japan’s Sayaka Hirano, the winner of the Women’s Singles crown at the German Open in 2009 and a major reason why the Japanese women returned home from the Liebherr World Team Championships in Moscow with bronze medal around their necks.
Defenders May Cause Problems
However, for the Singaporeans, there is tough opposition. Lia Jiao and Li Jie from the Netherlands are the respective no.5 and no.8 seeded players while Poland’s Li Qian is seeded no.4.
Li Jie and Li Qian are two players Yu Meng Yu will not want to meet, the Singaporean with her comparatively long flowing strokes is very effective against attackers but against defenders she has experienced problems.
Young Players
Equally, she will not relish facing Japan’s Yuka Ishikgaki, the no.8 seed, the defender against whom she suffered defeat in the final of the Under 21 Women’s Singles event at the Volkswagen Pro Tour Grand Finals in December 2008.
Yuka Ishigaki, 20 years old, is a dangerous adversary as are three other young players in the Women’s Singles event, who impressed at the recent Liebherr World Team Championships.
Seventeen year old Kasumi Ishikawa is the no.6 seed with 25 year old Huang Yi-Hua and 18 year old Cheng I-Ching being the no.7 and no.10 seeds respectively.
Mouma Das
Mouma Das is India’s leading player in the event, she is seeded no.16.
She also appears prominently in the Women’s Doubles event partnering Poulomi Ghatak, an event which sees Sun Bei Bei partner Yu Meng Yu and Li Jiao and Li Jie join forces.
Men’s Doubles
Meanwhile, in the Men’s Doubles event, Gao Ning and Yang Zi are the top seeds with Patrick Baum and Dimitrij Ovtcharov seeded no.2.
Under 21 Events
In the Under 21 Men’s Singles event, Koreans Kim Min Seok and Jung Young Sik occupy the top two seeded places followed by Japan’s Kenji Matsudaira and Han Ji Min, also from Korea while in the Under 21 Women’s Singles competition the top four order of merit reads: Yu Mengyu, Kasumi Ishikawa, Yuka Igashi and Cheng I-Ching.
Play starts on Wednesday June 16, 2010 with the qualification group stage of the Men’s and Women’s Singles events.
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