Hong Kong's Liu Qi will be credited with one of the biggest upsets of the opening day at the 2016 ITTF World Tour Hybiome Austrian Open, after she managed to seal top spot in group 5 with two victories.
Heading into day one of the 2016 Austrian Open Yana Noskova was the expected player to take top spot in group 5 having been announced as the highest seed in the group, however, it was the lowest seeded player Liu Qi who actually achieved that feat instead.
Liu (113th seed) began the group recovering from a game down to defeat Belgium’s Lisa Lung (104th) in five games, before the Hong Kong player put in an inspired performance to overcome the number 36 seed Yana Noskova (RUS) without dropping a single game (13-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-9).
The victory for Liu Qi wasn’t the only piece of success for Hong Kong in the qualifying groups as three more of the country’s representatives also ended the day in a strong position to progress to the next stage; Soo Wai Yam Minnie, Ng Wing Nam, and Mak Tze Wing are yet to suffer defeats at the 2016 Open and will fancy their chances of reaching the main draw.
