Twenty-year-old men’s singles player Zhe’an Hu ran into veteran Chou Tien-chen on Tuesday night, losing 17-21, 18-21 in the opening round of the Japan Masters 2026 in Kumamoto.
Hu stayed close in both games, erasing early deficits to reach 16-17 in the first game and 15-15 in the second before losing the final points. Chou, who is 16 years older than his Chinese opponent, controlled the tempo by maintaining court coverage and forcing errors during decisive rallies, as reported by 163.com.
Chou wins first game despite Hu's late rally
The first game slipped away as Chou established an early 4-0 lead and stretched it to an 11-2 advantage at the interval. Hu responded with overhead smashes and deep court variety to pull within a single point at 16-17. Chou tightened his net play and claimed the next four points to take the opener 21-17, 163.com reported.
Hu trailed 2-6 and 6-11 before squaring the score at 11-11 and later 15-15. Chou responded with four consecutive points to reach 19-15 and closed out the match 21-18. Hu’s overall record this season includes a title at the Macau Open 300 and a win over Li Shifeng at the Arctic Open.
Contrasting fortunes for Chinese entrants
The Chinese men’s singles contingent entered three players into the tournament draw. Zhu Xuanchen dropped his opening match 14-21, 17-21 against local player Yushi Tanaka, failing to force a competitive late-game margin. Dong Tianyao advanced by defeating Chinese Taipei’s Lee Chia-hao 21-15, 19-21, 21-10 in a three-game contest.
Dong remains the sole surviving Chinese player in the men’s singles bracket.
Kumamoto Masters 2026 schedule
Dong Tianyao takes on Lakshya Sen on Wednesday, Nov. 12, in the second round of the Kumamoto Masters.
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