NO.1 seed Viren Nettasinghe of Sri Lanka outlasted Chinese Taipei’s Chen Chi Ting in two intense sets, 23-21, 21-18, in the men’s singles of the Dove Saipan International 2024 — the second international tournament hosted by the NMI — at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium on Wednesday.
The tournament started on Tuesday, but Nettasinghe had to wait a day before knowing who his opponent would be as he was given a “bye” in round 1.
Chen Chi Ting faced the NMI’s Ean Camacho in round 1, and triumphed in both sets, 21-6, 21-6.
In round 2, Chen Chi Ting gave Nettasinghe a respectable battle.
Nettasinghe controlled the pace of the match thanks to his quickness and well-placed shots, which led to four consecutive points before Chen could stop the bleeding.
Chen then returned the favor with four straight points followed by a series of exchanges that led to a 7-7 tie.
Both players prolonged the high-paced action. Nettasinghe remained the aggressor, but with each slip, Chen rose to the occasion with his own set of offensive highlights to force the match past the game-point threshold after their fourth deadlock at 21-21.
Before the dust could settle, Nettasinghe scored back-to-back points to claim the first set, 23-21.
In the second set, Chen managed to turn the tides as he played the role of the aggressor and controlled the pace. After a series of early lead exchanges, Chen started to heat up, scoring three points in a row to gain some distance. Nettasinghe attempted to get back within reach but with every two points he scored, Chen answered with one to remain afloat, 16-13.
Nettasinghe found his second wind late in the game.
Return after return, Nettasinghe outclassed Chen as the Sri Lankan pulled a seven-point comeback to grasp the lead, 20-16. Chen tried to stay alive but could only score two more points before he had to settle for defeat and elimination, 18-21.
Nettasinghe will face India’s Aryamann Tandon. The other round 3 matches are Thailand’s Saran Jamsri against Japan’s Ryoma Muramoto; Japan’s Riku Hatano against Chinese Taipei’s Ting Yen-Chen; Chinese Taipei’s Haung Yu against Canada’s Hing Long Wong; Chinese Taipei’s Huang Ping-Hsien against Japan’s Shogo Ogawa; Thailand’s Wongsup Wongsup-In against Chinese Taipei’s Kuo Kuan Lin; Singapore’s Jia Wei Joel Koh against Malaysia’s Justin Hoh; and Korea’s Kim Byung Jae against Chinese Taipei’s Hsin Tse Tu.
Ean Camacho and the other NMI players, for their part, were eliminated in the first two days of the tournament:
Daniel Macario (eliminated by Malaysia’s Louis Millianer Choo, 21-8, 21-8); Kyle Salcedo (eliminated by Chinese Taipei’s Haung Ping-Hsien, 21-1, 21-3); Andreau Galvez (eliminated by Chinese Taipei’s Yi Liu, 21-8, 21-10); and Marlon Bautista (eliminated by Malaysia’s Lee Tao Ong, 21-8, 21-6).
The other NMI players automatically advanced to round two via a first round “bye,” but they, too, were eliminated: Paulo Quidato (who lost to Chinese Taipei’s Ting Yen-Chen, 21-3, 21-4), and Sean Dizon (who was outplayed by Korea’s Kim Byung Jae, 21-6, 21-7).
Sri Lanka’s Viren Nettasinghe connects a return from between his legs during a round 2 match against Chen Chi Ting in a men’s singles match of the Dove Saipan International 2024 at the Ada gym Wednesday.
The NMI’s Sean Dizon listens to coach Ezekiel (not Daniel) Macario during a break from a men’s singles match of the Dove Saipan International 2024 held at the Ada gym Wednesday.
Singapore’s Koh and Chinese Taipei’s Liu show good sportsmanship after a grueling match that went to overtime.
The NMI’s Sean Dizon
An intense match that went to best of three: Jia Wei Joel Koh of Singapore against iu of Chinese Taipei with Koh coming out on top.
Chinese Taipei’s Huang Ping-Hsien
New Zealand’s Edward Lau
The NMI’s Paolo Quidato
