The Chinese wheel chair tennis players stole the limelight at the 9th Sri Lanka Open Tournament when Zujun Wei won the Men’s Singles Title and Zhenzhen Zhu won the Women’s Singles. She also went on to win the Doubles Title with her partner Hui Min Huang.
The tournament, one of the three future tournaments organised by SLTA, concluded on the 21st of February 2016. Sri Lankan player H.M.L. Senaratne won the Men’s Singles of the second draw defeating Firdaus Ibrahim of Malaysia. Korean duo, Ha- Gel Lee and Sang-Ho-Oh won the Men’s Doubles title against their opponents Ho Won Im and Ji-Hwan Lee, also of South Korea.
The last day of play at the SLTA witnessed the semi-final and final rounds of matches in both Men’s and Women’s Categories. In the Men’s Singles, Zujun Wei of China beat Ha-Gel Lee of Korea 6-3, 6-0 to enter the finals, which he ultimately won. Francesc Tur of Spain won his semi-final against Sung-Bong Han of Korea and faced Wei in the final which the Chinese player won almost effortlessly 6-0, 6-2.
H.M.L. Senaratne had to triumph over his teammate K.Dharmaratne scoring 6-3, 6-1 to secure his place in the final. F. Ibrahim of Malaysia had to perk up his play against A.M.D. Jayaratne of Sri Lanka to win his semi-final 6-7(2), 6-2, 10-7 and be the other finalist. Senaratne won the match 6-3, 6-2.
The Men’s Doubles Finals was between duos from South Korea. Ho Won Im and Ji Hwan Lee of Korea beat Arrifahmi Zaquan Arrifin and Abu Samah Borhan of Malaysia in their semi-final round 3-6, 6-0 (10-7). Ha Gel Lee and Sang Ho Oh beat F. Ibrahim and Yushazwan Yusuf of Malaysia 6-0, 6-1 to enter the finals – which they ultimately won when their opponents retired from the match.
The first semi-final of the women’s singles was won by Zhenzhen Zu playing against her fellow countrywoman Qing Xiang Huang 6-2, 6-4. The second match was between Nokwanda Hlongwane of Russia and Ziying Wang of China. Z. Wang won the match with ease, scoring 6-0, 6-0. Z. Zu was the champion of the final as she won 6-3, 6-2.
In the Women’s Doubles, Chinese players Hui Min Huang and Z. Zhu were given a walkover into the final by the duo, Sri Lankan Thisara Jayasinghe and Russian N. Hlongwane. Jin Li Huang and Q.X. Huang of China defeated Z. Wang of China who had paired up with Madhu Bagri of India, with their match score of 6-2, 6-0. H. Min Huang and Z. Zhu (winner of the Singles title) became the title holders of the Women’s Doubles by prevailing over their opponents achieving 6-1, 6-3.
The participants of this tournament will play their next tournament – the 7th SSC Open – from 23rd – 25th February at the Sinhalese Sports Club.
Following is the breakdown of the results of the Sri Lanka Open Tournament:
MEN’S SINGLES
Main Draw
Zujun WEI (CHN) 6-0 – 6-2 Francesc TUR (ESP) [4]
Second Draw
H.M.L SENARATNE (SRI) 6-3 – 6-2 Firdaus IBRAHIM (MAS)
WOMEN’S SINGLES
Main Draw
Zhenzhen ZHU (CHN) [1] 6-3 – 6-2 Ziying WANG (CHN) [2]
MEN’S DOUBLES
Main Draw
Ha-Gel LEE (KOR) / Sang-Ho OH (KOR) [2] 6-1 – Retired Ho Won IM (KOR) / Ji-Hwan LEE (KOR) [1]
WOMEN’S DOUBLES
Main Draw
Hui Min HUANG (CHN) / Zhenzhen ZHU (CHN) [1] 6-1 – 6-3 Jin Lian HUANG (CHN) / Qing Xian HUANG (CHN)
