By Brian Yalung
Filipino bet Russel Misal made quite an impression after reaching the Round of 16 at the World Championship of Ping-pong at the Alexandra Palace in London.
After dropping his opening match against Kristof Zakar of Hungary, the former UAAP MVP outlasted his next two opponents, Isaak Abramov of Israel, 15-5, 15-11, and British Ashley Stokes, 10-15; 15-9 and 15-8, to reach the Round of 16.
Misal’s performance against his British rival was shown in live TV telecast thus earning him raves from London ping-pong fans.
Misal’s campaign was made possible thru the support of Dr. Emilio Yap III, Philip Uy, and DTC Promotions.
His winning run, however, was snapped by British Chris Doran, 15-10, 15-4.
Fellow Englishman Andrew Baggaley ended up winning it all, defeating Wang Shibo 15-10, 12-15, 15-8, 10-15, 15-6.
It was Baggaley’s third title in the tournament, having won it back in 2015 and 2016.
The two-day event gathered some of the world’s finest players who used only sandpaper covered rackets provided by the Tournament Organizer on the spot instead of the familiar modern rackets with specialized rubber pads.
The Tournament setting is like the World Poker championship with an exciting video-supported entrance of players and screaming fans around the huge playing hall.