Keeping hopes alive
Mixed Doubles: Quarter-Finals
Olajide Omotayo and Cecilia Akpan kept Nigerian hopes alive; at the quarter-final stage of the mixed doubles event they accounted for India’s Arjun Ghosh and Pooja Sahasrabudhe (11-3, 11-8, 11-8).
Success for Olajide Omotayo and Cecilia Akpan but for African colleagues it was defeat; Egypt’s Khalid Assar and Yousra Helmy suffered at the hands of Luxembourg’s Eric Glod and Sarah de Nutte (11-6, 11-6, 8-11, 11-6).
Host nation pair falls
Mixed Doubles: Quarter-Finals
Stalwarts of Nigerian table tennis for over two decades, Segun Toriola and Olufunke Oshonaike, the top seeds, experienced a mixed doubles quarter-final defeat at the hands of Germany’s Kilian Ort and Wan Yuan. They were beaten in straight games (11-4, 11-1, 13-11).
At the semi-final stage Kilian Ort and Wan Yuan meet Belgium’s Cédric Nuytinck and Lisa Lung; the no.3 seeds, they recorded a last eight success in opposition to the combination of Scotland’s Gavin Rumgay and England’s Maria Tsaptsinos (6-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-8).
Lisa Lung asserts authority
Under 21 Women’s Singles: Semi-Finals
Belgium’s Lisa Lung, the top seed, asserted her authority in the penultimate round; she beat Egypt’s Marian Alhodaby, the no.3 seed, in straight games (11-4, 11-7, 11-8).
Similarly, in the adjacent semi-final, Romania’s Andreea Dragoman was in no mood for charity; she ended the hopes of India’s Sreeja Akula, the no.2 seed, in a similar manner (11-6, 11-5, 14-12).
Rares Sipos beaten by Cristian Pletea
Under 21 Men’s Singles: Semi-Finals
Cristian Pletea, the no.4 seed, beat Romanian colleague, Rares Sipos, the top seed (11-7, 11-5, 11-5) to reserve his place in the final.
Iran’s Amir Hossein Hadaei awaits, by the very narrowest of margins in the counterpart penultimate round contest, he accounted for Belgium’s Laurens Devos (8-11, 11-8, 5-11, 12-10, 13-11).
Top seeds power to victory
Men’s Doubles: Round of 16
The mixed association duo of Belgium’s Cedric Nuytinck and France’s Quentin Robinot avoided any moments of drama in their men’s doubles round one meeting with Gedeon Kassa and Christian Mbongia with the top seeds defeating the Congo Democratic combination by a convincing 3-0 scoreline (11-4, 11-5, 11-7).
Russian pair squeeze through
Women’s Doubles: Round of 16
Seeded second for the women’s doubles draw but the Russian partnership of Polina Mikhailova and Yana Noskova struggled to find their footing in their opening round encounter, battling to a narrow 3-2 win at the expense of India’s Sreeja Akula and Diya Parag Chitale (11-4, 4-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8).
Cristian Pletea departs
Men’s Singles: Round of 32
Romanian star Cristian Pletea is out of the men’s singles race after losing out to German adversary Kilian Ort across seven games (6-11, 12-14, 11-7, 11-8, 9-11, 11-7, 11-9). In the other 5.35pm fixture second seed Cedric Nuytinck made a slow start but recovered well to beat Eric Glod 4-2 (9-11, 11-1, 11-8, 6-11, 11-9, 11-6).
Huge upset within reaching distance but Saheed Idowu falls short
Men’s Singles: Round of 32
Spectators in Lagos very nearly witnessed a major upset in the second round of men’s singles action as Congo Brazzaville’s Saheed Idowu marginally missed out on a spot in the last 16.
Holding a three games advantage but Idowu couldn’t quite make it over the finish line as his no.7 seeded opponent from Thailand, Supanut Wisutmaythangkoon fought back with four consecutive game wins to keep his name in the running (9-11, 8-11, 6-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-5, 11-9).
Close shave but Quadri Aruna survives
Men’s Singles: Round of 32
The big favourite for gold in Lagos but top seed Quadri Aruna came very close to a shock second round exit in the men’s singles event: down 1-3 on the scoreboard Nigeria’s Aruna required a late comeback push to edge a fierce battle against Belgian rival Laurens Devos 4-3 (10-12, 8-11, 12-10, 7-11, 11-8, 12-10, 11-5).
Sarah Hanffou negotiates difficult test
Women’s Singles: Round of 32
Cameroon’s Sarah Hanffou has put her name in the draw from the Round of 16 – seeded 14th in Lagos, Hanffou needed the full seven game distance to see off home competitor Aminat Fashola (7-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-8, 11-3, 5-11, 11-5).
Impressive outing from Dina Meshref
Women’s Singles: Round of 32
The no.3 seed in Lagos, Dina Meshref showed her class in round two with the Egyptian producing a dominant performance in her meeting with Nigeria’s Cecilia Akpan (14-12, 11-7, 11-5, 11-3). There was another victory for Egypt in the 2.25pm session as Reem El-Eraky came out on top against South Africa’s Simeen Mookrey (12-10, 11-8, 11-4, 7-11, 11-5).
Home star sails through
Women’s Singles: Round of 32
Nigerian no.15 seed Olufunke Oshonaike is through to the third round of the women’s singles draw in Lagos following a fine display against Egyptian opponent Mariam Alhodaby (11-7, 11-7, 8-11, 11-7, 11-7).
Also through is top seed Barbora Balazova with the Slovak player cruising to a straight games victory over the host nation’s Rofiat Jimoh (11-3, 11-4, 11-5, 11-5).
Michael Tauber ousts seed
Men’s Singles: Round of 64
Unseeded for the men’s singles draw but Israel’s Michael Tauber didn’t let that stop him from producing an upset in the opening round of main draw action condemning the no.30 seed from India, Mudit Dani to a six games defeat and an early elimination in the process (11-8, 11-8, 9-11, 7-11, 11-5, 11-4).
One step too A-ssar for Fayele
Men’s Singles: Round of 64
Host nation’s David Fayele had too much of a mountain to climb when he faced Egypt’s Khalid Assar in the first round of the main event here in Lagos.
Playing his first match of the tournament, Assar was full of energy and took down Fayele’s challenge in four games (11-5, 11-7, 11-4, 11-2).
Europeans gather momentum
Men’s Singles: Round of 64
Alexandre Rabinot and Bastian Steger claimed straight games victories over Nigerian opposition in a strong call of action for the European athletes.
France’s Rabinot took no prisoners versus Akinwale Fagamila as he raced to a 4-0 scoreline. Meanwhile, German Steger faced little resistance going up against Makanjuola Kazeem (11-3, 11-3, 11-9, 11-3).
Ghosh cranks up the tension
Men’s Singles: Round of 64
They say if you are going to win, win big! Indian Soumyajit Ghosh made sure to keep this saying going after he turned the tables on Nigerian Olajide Omotayo (10-12, 19-17, 11-9, 12-10, 11-8).
Omoyato started the match imperiously, and even had the lead in the decisive second game. But Ghosh had other ideas, as he kept pushing till he found a chink in the Nigerian’s armor. It made for an amazing match, one the fans will appreciate, despite elimination of their nation’s athlete.
Devos wins another thriller
Men’s Singles: Round of 64
Belgian Laurens Devos is making a habit of getting involved in thrillers, as he had to fight it out against Quentin Rabinot in a 4-3 win (11-3, 5-11, 11-8, 11-8, 8-11, 11-13, 11-7).
The Frenchman Rabinot came back from being 1-3 down but could not push on in the final game. Meanwhile, home favorite Quadri Aruna had a simpler task when he saw off Congo Democratic’s Christian Ntumba Ngeleka in a 4-0 win.
Diya hits Egyptian wall
Under 21 Women’s Singles: Quarter-finals
Diya Parag Chitale had her hands full against Mariam Alhodaby, as the Egyptian attacker managed to see off her Indian opponent in a 3-1 win (5-11, 11-9, 11-8, 13-11).
There was a definite air of pace and power about Alhodaby’s play, and it was a joy to watch for the fans. It was not too entertaining for Diya however, and she will now have her sights set on the women’s senior’s draw against Belgian Lisa Lung – who will be carrying momentum after soundly defeating Nigerian Esther Oribamise in the Under 21 quarter-finals (11-9, 12-14, 12-10, 12-10).
Hodaei outlasts Rembert
Under 21 Men’s Singles: Quarter-finals
At the other table in the Sir Molade Okoya Thomas Indoor Sports Hall, Frenchman Bastein Rembert could not follow on from his exploits from qualifying as he was defeated 3-2 by Amir Hossein Hodaei (12-14, 11-7, 2-11, 11-9, 11-5).
Ripos ousts Azeez
Under 21 Men’s Singles: Quarter-finals
Host candidate Azeez Solanke – playing his fourth match of the tournament – could not keep up with the first game intensity of Romanian Rares Sipos in a 3-1 defeat.
Despite taking the first game 11-7, Solanke had no answer when Sipos sped up his shots and took three games in a row (7-11, 12-10, 11-7, 11-6). Solanke will now look to progress in the seniors’ draw as he faces Belgian Robin Devos later today.
Knockout stages begin
Look below for the day’s fixture schedule and make sure to watch along live with itTV:
