Maria causes a huge upset! (2017 Düsseldorf)

Spaniard Maria Xiao has caused a lot of shockwaves here in Germany after he defeated the 11th seeded Doo Hoi Kem in what can only be described as a one of a kind comeback win!

Seeded 56th in the World Championships, Xiao recovered from 1-2 and then 2-3 down to record a 4-3 (11-9, 4-11, 4-11, 12-10, 1-11, 12-10, 11-7) win that had even the Hong Kong China athlete’s fans clapping. There was a resilience about Xiao that just did not let Doo settle into a rhythm, no matter how hard she tried. 

Mu sees of Cheng (2017 Düsseldorf)

It’s been a day for qualifiers here in Düsseldorf, as Mu Zi has found her way past seventh seed Cheng I-Ching in a brilliant 4-2 (11-5, 11-5, 11-13, 11-7, 10-12, 11-7) win.

The Chinese qualifier was at it from the start, winning two games to establish herself in the match and push back Cheng’s confidence. From there it was a matter of when and not if, as Mu dictated play with ease and placed herself in the next round with aplomb.

Unseeded Belgians continue to shock and awe (2017 Düsseldorf)

In what was their second victory over seeded opposition, Martin Allegro and Florent Lambiet have taken the measure of this World Championships in their own hands, after they beat Jiang Tianyi and Lam Siu Hang 4-3 (9-11, 11-9, 11-4, 6-11, 11-13, 11-9, 11-7).

The Hong Kong China pairing of Jiang and Lam were seeded 15th and had Allegro and Lambiet on the ropes, as they led 3-2 after five games. But it was a complete change of pace thereafter as the Belgian duo switched up a few gears and threw the experts’ predictions out of the window. 

Polcanova & Zhang secure impressive win (2017 Düsseldorf)

The Austrian-Canadian duo has managed to upset the running order of the day, as they defeated the German pairing of Nina Mittelham and Kristin Silbereisen 4-2 (8-11, 11-9, 11-5, 6-11, 11-4, 11-9).

Starting the Championship as qualifiers, Sofia Polcanova and Mo Zhang rattled the 16th seeded Mittelham and Silbereisen with their defensive nous and counter-attacking display at the table. Needless to say, the favorites were caught off-guard and that resulted in their early exit in front of a home crowd. 

Apolonia loses out to Ng (2017 Düsseldorf)

Despite having 3-2 lead, Tiago Apolonia has been eliminated by Ng Pak Nam after a thrilling turn of events here in Germany!

It was another qualifier at the task in this first round of shocks, as Ng took the 16th seeded Portuguese. The Hong Kong China athlete showed immense mental steel to recover from the edge of defeat in game five, and push back Apolonia in to a defensive stance, to record a 4-3 (11-6, 8-11, 16-14, 7-11, 10-12, 14-12, 11-6) win. 

Youngsik exits curtsey qualifier Pistej! (2017 Düsseldorf)

Lubomir Pistej has started the proceedings of the 2017 World Championships with a major shock, as he defeated Jeoung Youngsik 4-1 (12-10, 11-6, 12-10, 7-11, 11-5) in the first round. 

The 11th seed Korea Republic international was seemingly discarded after a mind-boggling performance from the Slovak qualifier. Winning the first three games on the bounce, Pistej found himself in command of the match in fashion that left Youngsik no room to come back.