Tired but satisfied; that was the situation for Hong Kong's Tang Peng, as he upset the order of merit in his concluding second stage match at the LIEBHERR Men's World Cup in Verviers, Belgium on the afternoon of Saturday 26th October 2013.

The win meant he booked his place in the quarter-finals and excelled previous efforts in the prestigious annual event; prior to this year he had competed in Magdeburg in 2010 and in 2011 in Paris.

On both occasion he had departed in the first stage.

Upset Seeding 
Listed at no.26 on the current Men's World Rankings and the no.10 seed; he beat Germany's Patrick Baum, named at no.20 in the global order and the no.7 seed, in six games (11-1, 12-10, 7-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-6) to secure his last eight place.

Special Meaning   
Success but the win had a special meaning.

"I win over Patrick Baum is a present for my child", smiled Tang Peng who is married to Hong Kong international, Tie Yana. The baby is due in December but who knows it might come earlier!

Jet-Lag   
Sleepless nights may await Tang Peng but if anyone needed sleep in Verviers it was Tang Peng, who was fighting jet-lag.

Yesterday I played two matches, he sighed. How today two matches; I'm really tired, I only arrived on Thursday.

First Stage 
On the opening day of play, in the first stage of proceedings, he overcame Australia's William Henzell (11-8, 4-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-13, 11-6) and India's Sharath Kamal Achanta (11-9, 11-9, 11-6, 10-12, 11-3).

The wins meant he finished in first place in his group and thus advanced to the second stage.

A daunting task awaited in his opening second phase duel, he faced top seed, China's Xu Xin and came close to causing an upset. He was beaten in seven games (11-6, 11-13, 8-11, 8-11, 11-4, 11-7, 11-6).

Not Too Disappointed  
I lost to Xu Xin this morning and I led 5-1 in the seventh game but he's a higher level than me so I'm not too disappointed; I'm pleased with how I played, said Tang Peng. It was hard to recover after that match; I'm so tired I need a rest!

Reverse Scenario
Success for Tang Peng but for his colleague, Jiang Tianyi, the no.8 seed, it was the reverse scenario.

A direct entry to the second stage of proceedings, having suffered a four games to nil defeat against Germany's Timo Boll, the no.2 seed, one day earlier (11-5, 11-3, 11-8, 11-6,); he was beaten by Portugal's Marcos Freitas, the no.9 seed.

The Portuguese star recovered from a three games to one deficit to post a seven games win (11-9, 5-11, 11-13, 8-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-7).

Favourites Succeed
Two surprise wins as matters concluded in the second stage of the tournament; in the other contests, it was as status predicted.

Yan An, the no.5 seed, who one day earlier had suffered defeat against Germany's Dimitrij Ovtharov, the no.3 seed (11-7, 10-12, 12-10, 11-5, 2-11, 11-9), recovered to beat Chinese Taipei's Chen Chien-An, the no.11 seed (11-7, 11-6, 11-3, 9-11, 11-4).

Overcame Spirited Korean Efforts
Meanwhile, Vladimir Samsonov of Belarus, the no.6 seed, who the previous day had experienced defeat against Chinese Taipei's Chuang Chih-Yuan, the no.4 seed (11-9, 11-8, 8-11, 2-11, 11-9, 12-10), overcame a spirited effort from Korea's Jung Youngsik, the no.12 seed (11-8, 9-11, 11-6, 6-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-4) to secure his place in the last eight.

Spare a thought for Jung Youngsik; at the GAC Group Asian Cup in Hong Kong in April, he played three matches in the first stage of proceedings and lost all three in seven games; earlier in the day in Verviers, he had been beaten by Chuang Chih-Yuan, the group winner, in seven games (8-11, 11-6, 11-6, 9-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-4).

Quarter-Finals
At the quarter-final stage, in the top half of the draw China's Xu Xin and Yan An confront each other with Hong Kong's Tang Peng meeting Germany's Dimitrij Ovtcharov.

In the lower half, Chinese Taipei's Chuang Chih-Yuan opposes Vladimir Samsonov of Belarus, Marcos Freitas draws swords with Germany's Timo Boll.

The quarter-final is a totally free draw.

Article by: ITTF - Ian Marshall

Photo by: Christophe Neuville