Koki Niwa Qualifies First in Asian Qualification

Koki Niwa was the surprise of the year at the Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament in Hong Kong. The 17 year old skillfuly made his way through a high class of opposition, including none other than world number 1, Ma Long who he dispatched in 6 sets in the semifinal of the first stage. Niwa had first had to progress through a qualifying group to make the main draw. He sailed through his round of 16 and quarterfinal matches to set up his semifinal with the hot favourite.

Ma Long didn't look to be in the zone at all, with constant errors on his backhand side even in medium paced rallies, service return errors were frequent and we was caught out of position on a number of occasions. Koki Niwa was quick to capitalise and won the crucial points in the tight moments of the match, it was enough for him to claim the match. The 17 year old star ecstatic with his win and becoming the first player to qualify from the tournament for the 2012 London Olympic Games and also the first non-chinese player to beat Ma Long in many many months.

Best points from the match Koki Niwa v. Ma Long