Upstarts Zhao, Qian gatecrash season finale

China enjoyed a fruitful weekend at the ITTF Austrian Open as unexpected deep runs for qualifiers Zhao Zihao and Qian Tianyi secured the pair places at next month's ITTF World Tour Grand Finals in Zhengzhou, Henan province.

Zhao has made rapid progress this year and enjoyed another superb week on the tour by reaching the men's singles final in Linz, where he lost 4-0 (12-10, 11-6, 11-6, 11-5) to superstar compatriot Fan Zhendong.

The second-place finish for Zhao, who wiped the floor with Brazil's Hugo Calderano in their semifinal (12-10, 11-6, 11-6, 11-5), saw the 22-year-old jump from 21st to 13th in the world rankings to book his spot among the 16 elite paddlers at the Finals (Dec 12-15).