Caribbean Debut, Seven Years Later Lee Ho Ching Again Rises to the Challenge
A member of the Hong Kong Women’s Team at the London Olympic Games, Lee Ho Ching broke the hearts of the host nation by causing the biggest upset of the third day’s play, Friday 2nd November, at the GAC GROUP 2012 ITTF World Tour German Open in Bremen.
She beat Wu Jiaduo, the no.2 seed in six games 11-6,11-8,11-9,8-11,8-11,11-6 in the second round of the Women’s Singles event, to reach the third round at a Tour tournament for the very first time in her career.
Previously her best had been the second round; the stage she reached in 2010 at the Egypt Open and Harmony China Opens whilst in 2011 she progressed to the same round in England before suffering defeat.
In Bremen, it was one step higher.
No Need to Run "I don't need to run now, do I?" Lee Ho Ching asked her coach, Li Huifen, with a big smile. If she loses at World Tour tournaments the punishment is tough: 25 laps, 400 metres each lap!"
I have to be so strict, otherwise my players are not focused enough," said Li Huifen, Hong Kong's Women's Head Coach.
Eyes on Guam Currently the ITTF World Cadet Challenge is taking place in the Western Pacific island of Guam; it was in 2005 that we first set eyes on Lee Ho Ching.
She represented Asia at the ITTF World Cadet Challenge in the Caribbean, in the Dominican Republic; at the time she was 12 years. She won a silver medal in the Girls’ Team event, Asia lost to Europe in the final, and she reached last 16 of the Girls’ Singles competition, losing to eventual runner up Ekaterina Kolodyazhnaya of Russia.
Hong Kong’s Future Now, seven years later, Lee Ho Ching is very much seen as Hong Kong’s future.
"No doubt she is the upcoming number one of our country," said Li Huifen who had sat courtside advising Lee Ho Ching against Wu Jiaduo; her strong attacking play from both forehand and backhand combined with her ability to absorb pressure when necessary reaped dividends.
Better in Rallies "She returned every ball, won many rallies even though this is usually my strong point," sighed Wu Jiaduo. "I didn't have enough power to beat her today, I knew it would be tough, I played her once before and only won four-two.”
Recently Wu Jiaduo has been attending special training with the German army in an attempt to gain a higher degree and perhaps practice has been curtailed.
"In addition, I had to play doubles just before the match”, added Wu Jiaduo. “Maybe that cost extra power."
Change of Coaches Nevertheless, it was a fine performance by Lee Ho Ching who will soon have a new coach.
Zhang Rui will soon assume the mantle of Head Coach, Li Huifen will focus mainly on young players.
Several Upsets The defeat experienced by Wu Jiaduo was one of several upsets in the second round of the Women’s Singles event.
Also, in the lower half of the draw, Chinese Taipei’s Cheng I-Ching, the no.23 seed, beat Korea’s Jeon Jihee, the no.10 seed in a nail-biting seven games duel (8-11, 11-8, 11-3, 7-11, 11-3, 7-11, 13-11); whilst qualifiers, Germany’s Shan Xiaona and Ukraine’s Ganna Gaponova continued to cause surprises.
Shan Xiaona accounted for Xian Yifang of France, the no.22 seed and runner up in the Women’s Singles event at the recent European Championships (11-8, 11-5, 11-8, 11-5), whilst Ganna Gaponova defeated Austria’s Li Qiangbing, the no.24 seed (12-10, 13-11, 6-11, 11-3, 11-9).
One More Four upsets in the lower half of the draw and there was one more. Korea’s Choi Moonyoung, the no.29 seed, ended the hopes of compatriot Seok Hajung, the no.6 seed (4-11, 11-4, 15-13, 11-4, 11-9).
Spaniard in Form Meanwhile, in the top half of the draw, Spain’s Sara Ramirez, the no.30 seed and Singapore qualifier, Lin Ye were the players to cause the upsets; both causing Japan pain.
Sara Ramirez beat Japan’s Sayaka Hirano, the no.7 seed (9-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-8, 7-11, 5-11, 11-7); whilst in a similarly hard fought duel, Lin Ye defeated Misaki Morizono, the no.20 seed (6-11, 11-9, 11-3, 6-11, 10-12, 14-12, 11-9).
Standing Firm Shocks galore but Spain’s Shen Yanfei, the no.1 seed; alongside Korea’s Dang Yeseo, the no.3 seed and Viktoria Pavlovich of Belarus, the no.4 seed, stood firm.
Shen Yanfei beat Ukrainian qualifier Tetyana Bilenko (11-3, 9-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-2, 13-11), Dang Yeseo accounted for Li Xue of France, the no.27 seed (11-5, 9-11, 13-11, 4-11, 11-8, 11-8) and Viktoria Pavlovich ended the hopes of Korean qualifier Choi Jeongmin (6-11, 11-7, 11-3, 11-8, 11-4).
