- Geplaatst door: Frederik Noppe
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It all started in 2003 with the Flanders Open. The objective in the beginning was to organize a tournament for our young talents. The main goal was to attract some players out of the top 100 of the world, without really looking for top 50-players. Like this our players can get some experience by playing against better ranked players. During the first 8 years we were located in Vilvoorde (centre of Belgium). In 2012 we moved to Antwerp and since 2014 the event is situated at De Haan (Belgium Coast).
In men's singles we have already had great names that emerged victorious. In the first three years the winners were He Zhi Wen (2003), Legout Christophe (2004) and Tokic Bojan (2005). But also after that, notable names took the title. In 2006 Panagiotis Gionis beat all the opposition, while in 2009 Steffen Mengel was the best of the pack. Only once a Belgium player was victorious. Yannick Vostes was the best in 2012. The only other Belgium male player who reached the top 4, was Lauric Jean in 2010. He became fourth in the men's singles event. No player has won this event twice.
In women's singles it was succes for Oksana Fadeeva in 2003 and 2005. There were three times that a Dutch lady was successful. In 2004 Li Jiao won, Li Jie was the best in 2006 and Elena Timina was victorious in 2010. The only female Belgian player who reached the podium was Karen Opdencamp in 2003. She became fourth.
Two years ago the Flanders Open changed his course and became a World Tour Challenger event. In doing so, we attracted a lot more attention from the best players of the world. In men's singles we had the pleasure to watch Dimitrij Ovtcharov, the number four of the world at that time. Also present were Vladimir Samsonov and Tiago Apolonia. Dimitrij Ovtcharov went out very soon against the Italian Stoyanov. But there was an even bigger surprise last year. Simon Arvidsson (ranked number 286 at that time) reached the final. But there he had to congratulate his opponent, Vladimir Samsonov. For Samsonov it was already his 25th succes at a World Tour Event. Quite astonishing...
Also in women's singles some top players were present. The Japanese delegation sent out Yuka Ishigaki (n° 26), Wakamiya Misako (n° 29) and Morizono Misaki (n° 32). But none of these three reached the final stage. Nevertheless Japan had a competitor in the final. Abe Megumi (n° 102) beat all the odds to reach the final. In the final she clashed with Pota Georgina. It was the 83th appearance of Georgina at a World Tour Event. And finally she was successful. She beat Abe in five games to secure her first World Tour Event title.
Last year the Iranian Nima Alamian (WR 192) took the men’s singles and doubles title. In the final he defeated the young Hungarian Hunor Szocs (WR 201) in 6 frames (4-2). The South Korean favourites, Kim Donghyun (WR 30), Kim Minseok (WR 34) and Cho Eonrae (WR 56), weren’t able to make it to the final. Alamian and his brother Noshad won the title in doubles. The Japanese Kohei Sambe collected his first ITTF World Tour U21 men’s singles title of the year. Our compatriots didn’t achieve their goals, except for Florent Lambiet (bronze medal U21). Public’s favourite “Jean-Mi” disappointed the public in the first round of the main draw. In the last sixteen, Cedric Nuytinck didn’t stand a chance against the future winner. The other young Belgian, Robin Devos, had to cancel his participation due to an injury.
No surprises in the women’s singles, the two top seed players, Feng Tianwen (WR 7) and Seo Hyowon (WR 11), reached the final. The two finalists didn’t give an inch to each other. Defender Seo Hyowon took the victory in the seventh frame (11-9) after a thrilling match. The two Belgian girls on the main draw, Lisa Lung and Eline Loyen, lost in the first round. The young Singaporean pair Lin Ye and Zhou Yihan won the women’s doubles title. Before the final, they already played against each other in the U21 final. Zhou Yihan turned out to be the winner.
What will the Belgium World Tour bring this year? Find it out in a few weeks...
