DOHA: Reigning European Cup champion Darko Jorgic just fell short of victory against World No.1 Fan Zhendong of China in the Round of 16 battle at WTT Finals Men Doha 2023 here on Wednesday.
Fan won 11-7, 7-11, 7-11, 19-17, 11-8 to set up a quarterfinal clash with Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna.
Jorgic couldn’t have asked for tougher opposition than the event’s 2021 champion.
To add to his status, Fan, who, prior to play at the Lusail Sports Arena, had dominated both of their previous head-to-head contests, with Jorgic failing to win a single game.
“I didn’t get in the zone very quickly in the first game. My performance after that is normal. The scores are very close and I’ve been trying to pull ahead. He did very well in aspects I didn’t expect today, which gave me quite some pressure,” Fan told worldtabletennis.com.
Among other who made it to the last eight include, former champion Ma Long, Lin GAOYUAN, WANG Chuqin, Tomokazu HARIMOTO, Dang Qiu, Liang Jingkun,
