The second day of play at the ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Finals in Doha saw a strong start from Charlotte LUTZ of France. Ranked No. 92 in the world, LUTZ came from two games down to defeat Korea’s Eunhye LEE (World No. 52) 4-2 (7-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-8, 12-10, 11-8).
European champion Sofia POLCANOVA of Austria, seeded No. 12, overcame Orawan PARANANG of Thailand in six games. In the Round of 64, she will face Andreea DRAGOMAN of Romania, who defeated another Thai representative, Jinnipa PARANANG, in the opening round.
Germany’s Annett KAUFMANN made a dominant start to her Women’s Singles campaign, cruising past NG Wing Lam of Hong Kong in straight games.
“I go to the table with confidence and give my best,” said KAUFMANN, looking ahead to her upcoming clash with China’s Chen Xingtong. “I believe I can cause problems for the world No. 3.”
Despite ongoing foot issues, KAUFMANN stayed focused and also impressed in doubles alongside Xiaona SHAN, defeating the Canadian pair Ivy LAO / Mo ZHANG.
“We trained together before the Olympics, but this is our first tournament as a pair. Overall, we played well,” commented SHAN.
KAUFMANN added: “My foot still hurts a bit, but our physios tape it up so well I barely notice it. We get along really well, and I trust Nana completely.”
It was the opposite outcome for Germany’s Xiaona SHAN in singles. She lost to Turkey’s Sibel ALTINKAYA 3-4 (–5, 7, 7, 9, –9, –7, –4), despite leading 3:1 and 9:5 in the fifth game.
Ioana SINGEORZAN of Romania overcame Audrey ZARIF of France in straight games. In the second round, she will meet No. 9 seed Yubin SHIN of Korea. In another all-European encounter, Giorgia PICCOLIN of Italy defeated Lilou MASSART of Belgium in straight games.
Germany’s Sabine WINTER also advanced with a 4-0 win over Mariam ALHODABY.
“I’m happy with the 4-0 win. My regular game worked well, although my anti-spin shots were a bit shaky. I’m looking forward to the next match,” said WINTER, who will face Hanitra RAHARIMANANA of Madagascar in the Round of 64.
Jieni SHAO of Portugal defeated CHANG Li Sian of Malaysia 4-2 and will next face No. 7 seed Satsuki ODO of Japan.
Poland’s Natalia BAJOR came through a 4-2 win over Singapore’s Li Qian SER. Two Serbian players also secured spots in the second round: Andrea TODOROVIC and Izabela LUPULESKU.
