The Lone Ranger rides again; this time in the Middle East, to be precise in Qatar.
Furthermore, he has with him his trusted scout “Rossi” alongside, as he faces foes from the east in an effort to stop the invaders plundering the spoils.
Germany’s Timo Boll is the Lone Ranger with his coach, Jörg Rosskopf, steering him through treacherous paths; so far so good.
At the close of play on Saturday 12th February 2011, the title hopes of Timo Boll at the Qatar Open remain alive.
However, he is alone, very much alone; all the remaining competitors are from the region of the world once ruled by the ruthless Ghengis Khan.
No Prisoners
Reputedly he took no prisoners and neither did the modern days stars of Chinese table tennis on the penultimate day of action in Doha.
Once again the Chinese were simply superb, all four Women’s Singles semi-finals are from China as are both pairs in the Men’s and Women’s Doubles finals.
New Generation
Meanwhile in the Men’s Singles event as in the Women’s Singles event the new generation of Chinese players made their presence felt.
Ma Long and Zhang Jike, both 22 years old posted quarter-final victories as did 21 year old Xu Xin.
Senior Statesman
Three Chinese stars through to the semi-finals, the one remaining place is that filled by Timo Boll, in the company of his final day adversaries, he is very much the senior statesman.
Timo Boll is 30 years old; at least eight years the senior of any potential last day adversary.
Defeated Ryu Seung Min
At the quarter-final stage, as he had done in eleven of the twelve previous meetings in world ranking events Korea’s Ryu Seung Min recorded an impressive victory.
He beat the 2004 Olympic champion in five games; winning 11-4, 11-4, 12-10, 6-11, 11-9.
Zhang Jike
Success for German but then the Chinese juggernaut rolled into action.
Zhang Jike beat Japan’s Jun Mizutani in six games, he won 12-10, 3-11, 11-5, 10-12, 11-9, 12-10 in a contest full of exciting rallies, a contest in which Jun Mizutani had opportunities.
In the fifth game Jun Mizutani led 7-3 before Zhang Jike recovered and in the sixth game he was ahead 10-9 before the Chinese star won three points in a row to secure victory.
Opportunities
Equally, in the ensuing all Chinese contest, Wang Hao had his opportunities against Xu Xin; the match went the full seven games distance with Xu Xin eventually winning 5-11, 11-8, 11-6, 7-11, 7-11, 11-4, 11-8.
The big chance for Wang Hao came in the seventh games; he led 8-5, Xu Xin called “Time Out” and never looked back.
Breathtaking
It was a tremendous match but for sheer dazzling entertainment the contest to behold was the match that brought the fourth day of play to a conclusion.
Ma Long beat Joo Se Hyuk in six games (11-9, 11-6, 12-10, 8-11, 9-11, 12-10) in a contest where after losing the first three games, the defensive play reached new levels, breathtaking.
Success for Ma Long and one final thought for the day.
Breathtaking
Ma Long, Xu Xin and Zhang Jike are through to the Men’s Singles semi-finals in Qatar; Ma Lin, Wang Hao and Wang Liqin, the trio that represented China in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and all present in Qatar, did not reach the penultimate stage, in fact only Wang reached the quarter-finals.
Timo Boll ploughing a lone furrow in Doha Photo By: Adel Hakouz
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