Hong Kong’s Jack Wong Hong-kit narrowly missed out on a place in the men’s singles semifinals at the PPA Asia 1500 Hang Seng Bank Hong Kong Slam after losing a three-game quarterfinal to world No. 5 Federico Staksrud on Friday.
Wong, the last Hong Kong player remaining in the tournament, took the opening game 11-8 against the Argentine at Kai Tak Arena before falling 9-11, 10-12 in the next two games.
The pair had previously met at the Hanoi Open in April, where Wong also lost in three games. This time, the Hong Kong player started strongly and carried that momentum into the second game, racing to a 5-0 lead before Staksrud recovered to level the match.
The deciding game remained close throughout. Wong reached match point first at 10-9, but Staksrud won the next three points to seal a 12-10 victory and advance to the semifinals.
“Thank you so much to the Hong Kong fans in the crowd for their passionate support! I never expected so many people to come out and cheer for us. Without everyone’s cheers and encouragement, I wouldn't have been able to play at such a high level,” Wong said after the match.
Elsewhere, Ben Johns and Gabriel Tardio advanced in men’s doubles, while Anna Leigh Waters and Anna Bright progressed in women’s doubles. Johns and Waters also moved into the mixed doubles semifinals after winning in straight games.
The semifinals will be held on Saturday at Kai Tak Arena.
The Hong Kong Slam runs from October 19 to 25 and features men’s and women’s singles and doubles, as well as mixed doubles, with a total prize purse of up to US$1.1 million, or about HK$8.58 million.
