Singapore Smash: ‘dominant’ Wong Chun-ting into round of 32 as Doo Hoi-kem and Lee Ho-ching await knockouts
- City’s top men’s paddler Wong through to round of 32 but Tokyo Olympic medallist Minnie Soo crashes out
- Mixed doubles entrants Ho and Germany’s Mittelham leaves it late, while Lee and Qiu face agonising defeat
Team Hong Kong continued their mixed-bag Singapore Smash campaign on Saturday, with men’s singles star Wong Chun-ting and mixed doubles player Ho Kwan-kit advancing, but women’s paddler Minnie Soo Wai-yam bowing out.
The 30-year-old Wong eased past higher-ranked Jang Woo-jin of South Korea in the round of 64, winning 3-1 (13-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-5) at the Singapore Sports Hub’s OCBS Arena.
World No 22 Wong will play Patrick Franziska of Germany in the round of 32.
“He played well,” coach Chan Kong-wah said. “Especially in the first three sets where he was very dominant.”
Wong is the city’s last men’s singles entrant after teammates Lam Siu -hang and Ho Kwan-kit fell to Belgium’s Cedric Nuytinck 1-3 (11-6, 7-11, 6-11, 8-11) and Taiwan’s Liao Cheng-ting 0-3 (8-11, 3-11, 5-11), respectively.
Meanwhile, Tokyo Olympic team bronze medallist Soo was outclassed by veteran Yuan Jianan of France 3-0 (2-11, 6-11, 10-12).
