Hong Kong’s Doo Hoi Kem defeated world number one Liu Shiwen on the opening day of the ITTF Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament ©ITTF/Rémy Gros

Hong Kong’s Doo Hoi Kem delighted the home crowd on the opening day of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament with a sensational victory over world number one Liu Shiwen at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium.

Having beaten Chinese Taipei’s Lee I-Chen 11-9, 11-9, 11-7, 11-9 in the first round, the world number 25 upset the odds to beat her Chinese opponent 9-11, 5-11, 10-12, 12-10, 11-4, 7-11 and take a massive step towards securing a Rio 2016 berth.  

"Every time I’ve played against a Chinese player, I’ve lost to them without winning a single game; it makes you start to lose confidence when playing against them," said the 19-year-old Doo, who will next meet South Korea’s Jeon Jihee tomorrow.

"My coach urged me not to be fearful of my opponent and kept reminding me to play with spirit and show my ability during the match - finally I did it."

Liu, 25, had beaten Doo in straight games in their only previous meeting at last year’s GAC Group Asian Cup.

She needed to win in Hong Kong to confirm her place in China’s Olympic team and she admits her fate is now out of her hands as she looks to make up for missing out on London 2012 qualification.

"I think Doo Hoi Kem has improved a lot compared to the last time I played her," said Liu.

"Since I’ve not played against Doo Hoi Kem that much, I’m not familiar of her playing style and I didn’t play well in the first few games.

"I lost the first three games but I never thought of giving up - I always thought that I could come back and win.

"In the sixth game, Doo Hoi Kem had some luck and that made it hard to adapt."

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World number one Liu Shiwen of China suffered a rare defeat ©Getty Images

There was no such trouble for Liu’s fellow countrywomen Li Xiaoxia and Zhu Yuling as they both progressed from their second-round encounters at the expense of Taiwanese opposition.

Li accounted for Chen Szu-Yu 12-10, 11-4, 11-2, 5-11, 11-4, while Zhu overcame Cheng I-Ching 14-12, 11-6, 11-4, 14-12.

Competition has also begun at the ITTF European Olympic Qualification Tournament in the Swedish city of Halmstad, where the home country’s leading player Matilda Ekholm suffered a shock defeat in the preliminary group stage of the women’ singles event.

The world number 60 was beaten 11-9, 11-6, 11-8, 11-6 in her opening contest by Slovenia’s Alex Galic, who is currently ranked 161st in the global standings.

She recovered though to beat Serbia’s Gabriela Feher 11-7, 11-9, 8-11, 3-11, 11-4, 12-10 in a hard-fought six-game encounter.