OLOMOUC, Czech Republic, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- The first-seeded paddler Tomokazu Harimoto from Japan was unexpectedly knocked off by Romanian Cristian Pletea in the first round of the men's singles here at 2019 ITTF World Tour Czech Open on Thursday.
Harimoto, the 2017 Czech Open champion, will not get a second shot at the title this year. The 17-year-old rising star sustained a surprising loss against the 2018 Youth Olympian, who has been posting very positive results lately.
Harimoto held an easy 2-0 lead at the beginning. Pletea refused to let up and caught him in the following gaming, eking out a 4-3 victory (3-11, 7-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-7).
"That is for sure the biggest win of my career. We have been playing against each other since we were juniors, which helped me today," said Pletea, "I know his style and I felt he was a little bit nervous today. I played really well today, and my tactics were perfect."
It's been a successful return so far for German superstar Timo Boll, who celebrated his return by beating Chinese player Xia Yizheng 4-2 (11-7, 11-7, 11-13, 11-4, 9-11, 11-8). Boll, 38-year-old veteran, who has a busy club schedule, has been absent from the ITTF World Tour for the past two months.
In the men's doubles, China's Zhao Zihao/Zhu Linfeng marched into the quarterfinals in Olomouc with a magnificent 3-2 win (11-13, 5-11, 11-5, 15-13, 11-9) over their opponents Chen Chien-An/Chuang Chih-Yuan from Chinese Taipei.
In the women's singles, having fought her way through the preliminary rounds to the main draw, China's Liu Xi sailed smoothly through her match with new Pan American Games champion Adriana Diaz, defeating the Puerto Rican 4-0 (11-4, 11-7, 11-9, 11-9).
Top seed He Zhuojia from China in Olomouc beat her compatriot Gu Yuting 4-2 (11-7, 11-8, 11-8, 9-11, 7-11, 11-8).
In the women's doubles and the mixed doubles, China's pairs succeeded in challenging the first-seeded duos at Olomouc. Gu Yuting/Mu Zi defeated Kihara Miyuu/Nagasaki Miyu from Japan 3-2. Ma Te/Wu Yang outplayed Lee Sangsu/Jeon Jihee from South Korea 3-2.
