Hong Kong, China, upset England to top Pool C

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[3] ENGLAND 1-2 [5/6] HONG KONG, CHINA
Jasmine Hutton 2-3 Chan Sin Yuk  7-11, 11-2, 11-9, 3-11, 10-12 (44m)
Sarah-Jane Perry 3-2 Ho Tze-Lok  12-10, 7-11, 6-11, 11-0, 11-4 (50m)
Lucy Turmel 2-3 Tong Tsz-Wing   11-5, 11-9, 8-11, 5-11, 9-11 (50m)

5/6 seeds Hong Kong, China, overcame third seeds England to top Pool C on the final day of the pools stage.

On the indoor glass court at the Madinaty Sporting Club, the defending Asian Team champions made a strong start as World No.37 Chan Sin Yuk came from 2-1 down to beat World No.22 Jasmine Hutton 3-2.

Hong Kong had a chance to finish the tie inside of two matches when their No.1 Tomato Ho went 2-1 up against Sarah-Jane Perry, only for the England No.1 to roar back with a bagel and then a comprehensive 11-4 to level the tie.

England appeared to be out of the woods when World No.31 Lucy Turmel opened a 2-0 lead over Tong Tsz-Wing . Tong, however, mounted a brilliant comeback of her own to stun the seven-time champions, with the World No.44 pounding the glass in delight after taking the final three games 11-8, 11-5, 11-9.

Afterwards, Hong Kong, China coach Peter Genever said: “I’m delighted. They played really well but that was a really good tie, and a tough one, with them all going to five games. I’m really pleased.

“We all know Tong is a fighter, she’s known for that and to be 2-0 down and things not looking that good, but once she got that third game we thought ‘she’s renowned for sticking in there and being tough to beat’ and thankfully she did that again today.”

England coach David Campion said:

“You don’t win medals in the pool stage, we went into this looking to qualify and we have. Obviously we would have preferred to have topped the group, but Malaysia and France are so close anyway. It’s just important to try and come through unscathed and we’ve done that. It’s disappointing to lose a match but it’s not over by any means. We’ll regroup tonight and take as many positives out of it as we can.”

Hong Kong, China, will face fellow 5/6 seeds Malaysia in the quarter-finals, with the winner likely to meet top seeds Egypt in the semis.