Chinese prodigy Zhou Qihao sent packing by Timo Boll at table tennis World Championships in Houston
- Zhou Qihao’s shock 4-1 defeat by German veteran means there will be no all-China final for the second time in a row at the tournament
- Wong Chun-ting and Doo Hoi-kem are Hong Kong’s last remaining hopes in the men’s and women’s singles after reaching the third round
Chinese up and comer Zhou Qihao suffered a surprising early exit in the table tennis World Championships men’s singles in Houston on Thursday, as Hong Kong’s Wong Chun-ting progressed to the third round with an impressive win over Masataka Morizono of Japan.
The 24-year-old mainlander, who booked his ticket for the Worlds after beating world No 1 Fan Zhendong, was no match against veteran Timo Boll of Germany, who secured a 4-1 (11-8, 11-6, 11-8, 5-11, 12-10) victory in the bottom half of the draw at George R. Brown Convention Centre.
Boll, 40, was making his 18th appearance in the World Championships, where his best result has been a joint-third place finish in Rotterdam in 2011.
Zhou’s defeat also meant there will be no all-China final for the second consecutive event, after Ma Long defeated Mattias Falck of Sweden at the last Worlds in Budapest two years ago. China had previously dominated the showpiece, with both players in the final on all seven previous occasions since 2005 in Shanghai.
The four other Chinese entries in the top half of the draw all made it to the third round. Each country is allowed to send a maximum of five players to the event.
