Belgium and Poland end day on a high
What a crazy end to the day here in Gondomar as two wins for Cedric Nuytinck and another courtesy of Martin Allegro sees the Belgium men’s team come from behind twice to defeat Italy 3-2.
Li Qian overcame a major hurdle, recovering from two games down to beat Tetyana Bilenko (8-11, 8-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-8) and help Poland battle past Ukraine 3-1 and gain their ticket to Tokyo 2020.
Perfect Portugal progress
Tiago Apolonia prevails over Yevhen Pryshchepa in four games (11-7, 11-9, 6-11, 11-9) as Portugal wraps up a 3-0 success over Ukraine.
The tie between Italy and Belgium continues to hang on a knife edge with both sides needing one final fixture to settle their differences. Poland’s confidence continues to build with Natalia Partyka toppling Ganna Gaponova (12-10, 14-12, 11-9) to put her country 2-1 in front.
Great Britain 3-0 Argentina
Well that didn’t take long! Great Britain has booked its place in the last 16 after completing a convincing 3-0 win against Argentina.
Li Qian restores confidence
Down following a narrow defeat in the doubles but it hasn’t taken long for the Polish women’s team to draw level with Ukraine with Li Qian storming past Margaryta Pesotska 3-0 (11-8, 11-3, 13-11).
Belgium has also bounced back from an early deficit to restore parity with Italy and the home fans are happy after seeing Marcos Freitas send Portugal 2-0 up. On table 4 the signs are looking very promising for Great Britain, doubling their lead over Argentina to 2-0.
Team GB edge in front
A tight start to proceedings over on table 4 as Samuel Walker and Paul Drinkhall recover to beat Gaston Alto and Horacio Cifuentes across five games (10-12, 13-11, 4-11, 11-4, 11-6) to hand Great Britain a 1-0 lead over Argentina.
Glancing at some other scores for you: Joao Monteiro and Tiago Apolonia have handed hosts Portugal a positive start against Ukraine, the Italian men’s team has moved 1-0 ahead against 12th seeds Belgium while the final women’s team fixture of the day sees Ukraine lead Poland 1-0 with a ticket for Tokyo 2020 awaiting the winner of that tie.
Emotional scenes
It’s fair to say that result meant a lot – emotional scenes from Team Hungary in Gondomar.
Slovak heroics
In a gruelling tie that required the full-match distance, it’s Slovakia that has claimed the upper hand against Romania with Wang Yang’s thumping of Hunor Szocs (11-7, 11-5, 11-8) proving the decisive blow.
Over on table 1 there’s big news to report with Hungary securing its place in the women’s team event at Tokyo 2020 with Dora Madarasz’s brace helping the no.7 seeds to a 3-1 victory over hosts Portugal.
Tomislav Pucar comes good
Suffering defeat earlier in the tie Tomislav Pucar has come good at the second attempt, claiming a straight games win against Konstantinos Konstantinopoulos (12-10, 11-8, 11-6) to seal a 3-1 win for Team Croatia.
Elsewhere, Romania and Slovakia continue to go at it hard, level at 2-2 with the match going down to a decider and France has seen off Denmark 3-0. An update from Hungary’s meeting with Portugal in the women’s team category: Dora Madarasz has recovered from an early deficit to beat Fu Yu (5-11, 15-13, 11-7, 11-5) to put the Hungarians 2-0 ahead.
Hungarians strike early lead against hosts
Maria Fazekas and Szandra Pergel have shown their strength as a partnership, combining to see off Luo Xue and Shao Jieni (11-7, 6-11, 11-8, 11-4) to put Hungary 1-0 to the good against home favourites Portugal in the women’s team Round of 16.
Updating you on the men’s team action, Simon Gauzy’s four games success against Jonathan Groth has seen France extend its advantage over Denmark to 2-0, Wang Yang has put Slovakia level with Romania at 1-1 while Andrej Gacina has put Croatia 2-1 up against opponents Greece.
16.00 session scores update
Amongst the backdrop of DPR Korea’s fantastic contest with Korea Republic, action has got underway in the 16.00 session of play and we have some early scores to update you with.
Three men’s team last 32 battles are being played, Croatia and Greece are locked at 1-1 after Panagiotis Gionis flew past Tomislav Pucar in straight games (11-7, 11-7, 11-7) to level the match following an early doubles success for the Croatians. France and Romania lead Denmark and Slovakia both by 1-0 margins.
Kim Nam Hae sends DPR Korea to Tokyo!
An incredible display from Kim Nam Hae has seen DPR Korea earn a mighty 3-1 win at the expense of Korea Republic, claiming a spot at Tokyo 2020 in the process!
Ranked 71 positions below Suh Hyowon in the women’s world rankings list, Kim Nam Hae fought back from a one-game deficit to beat the defensive specialist (9-11, 14-12, 12-10, 11-4) and earn a famous victory in Gondomar.
Korea Republic still in it
The women’s round of 16 battle is going down to the wire, as Korea Republic’s Shin Yubin hit back with a stunning win over Cha Hyo Sim in four games (11-8, 9-11, 15-13, 11-1).
The scoreline now reads 2-1 to DPR Korea, with Suh Hyowon and fighting to keep her side in the match against Kim Nam Hae. Who will claim the qualification spot?
DPR Korea in control
DPR Korea are now fully in control against Korea Republic, as Kim Song I has just beaten Suh Hyowon 3-1 (11-6, 7-11, 15-13, 12-10), to hand her country’s team a 2-0 lead. Is there any way back for Korea Republic’s women’s team?
In the meantime, Team Sweden have secured a perfect 3-0 win over Team Spain, as Jon Persson beat Alvaro Robles in straight games (16-14, 11-5, 11-9), sending Sweden to the final 16 of the men’s team event.
“I think I was a little bit nervous at the beginning from my side. But Kristian was playing really well, he was a good partner for me today and we succeeded. We received better and I was more aggressive at the end. In the singles match, in the second game I started to serve better. Robles had more problems with my serve and I received better, so that was the key for me today. Now we will try to rest to be ready for the Hungarian team.” Jon Persson
Hungary end Samsonov hopes
Team Hungary have secured a clean 3-0 overall win over Team Belarus and ended Vladimir Samsonov’s hopes of a seventh appearance at the Olympic Games. Adam Szudi won the final battle 3-2 (7-11, 8-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-3) after a spirited effort from Aliaksandr Khanin who led by two games.
Team Sweden have also won their second battle to gain a 2-0 lead over Team Spain, 2019’s World Championship runners-up Mattias Falck beating Jesus Cantero in a thrilling 3-2 battle.
Sweden find a strong opening
Team Sweden have opened well against Team Spain on table 2, as Kristian Karlsson and Jon Persson have beaten Alvaro Robles and Carlos Machado in their first battle (11-8, 10-12, 11-9, 8-11, 11-7).
Over at table 3, Team Hungary have doubled their lead, as Bence Majoros accounted for Team Belarus’ 6-time Olympian Vladimir Samsonov (11-9, 11-8, 8-11, 6-11, 11-3).
DPR Korea lead Korea Republic
In the second round of 16 match for the women’s teams, DPR Korea have taken an early lead against their neighbours Korea Republic, as Kim Nam Hae and Cha Hyo Sim beat Shin Yubin and Choi Hyojoo 3-1 (7-11, 11-7, 11-9, 12-10).
For the men’s round of 32 matches, Chinese Taipei have eliminated Team Thailand, securing a 3-0 overall victory thanks to Lin Yun-Ju and Chuang Chih-Yuan’s back-to-back wins.
Hungary and Belarus keep it tight
After the events of the first session, it seems like Teams Hungary and Belarus are following the memo as Hungary’s Adam Szudi and Nandor Ecseki needed five games to beat Aliaksandr Khanin and Pavel Platonov (11-8, 12-14, 6-11, 12-10, 11-7) to take the lead.
Meanwhile, Chinese Taipei’s Chuang Chih-Yuan and Chen Chien-An have won in straight games against Team Thailand’s Supanut Wisutmaythangkoon and Yanapong Panagitgun (11-5, 11-4, 11-3), giving them a 1-0 start.
Serbia find their win, eventually
Despite the best efforts of Robert Gardos, Team Austria have been eliminated by Team Serbia’s fantastic resilience as Dimitrije Levajac beat Stefan Fegerl in the deciding battle (12-10, 1-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-9) to give Serbia a 3-2 overall victory.
Poland and Singapore win classics!
Team Poland has secured a mammoth win over Team Nigeria and their hero is Jakub Dyjas, who after having accounted for Quadri Aruna, also beat 7 time Olympian Segun Toriola 3-1 (10-12, 11-8, 11-6, 11-8) to give Poland a 3-2 overall win.
“I can say we had a really good match. He (Dyjas) was a little lucky in the long rallies, maybe if I had luck in the long rallies I could win. It was a 50/50 match, in this match, I received his serves very well.” Segun Toriola
In even bigger news, the women’s Team Singapore secured qualification for Tokyo in their thriller match against Team Netherlands, after their own Olympian Feng Tianwei beat Li Jiao 3-1 (11-8, 13-15, 11-5, 11-5) in the decider.
“Yes, 100% sure, very happy to qualify for the Olympics. Very tough match. We won 3-2 and every game was so close, everyone played really well. We feel sorry for Li Jie( her injury).” He Keyi, Sinagpore Coach
Netherlands setup thriller finish
The women’s team battle has heated up! Team Netherlands have equalled the scores and are now 2-2 against Team Singapore – with the final battle on between Li Jiao and veteran Feng Tianwei!
For the men’s last match, Team Austria came back to make things very interesting as Robert Gardos beat Team Serbia’s Marko Jevtovic 3-2 (7-11, 8-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-6), despite being two games down! Funnily enough, this also meant every single match from the 10:00 session went to the decider – talk about incredible competition!
Nigeria level things up
It seems like the Nigerian team has awoken to the sound of their fans – with a roar, Olajide Omotayo and Quadri Aruna have won back-to-back against Team Poland’s Marek Badowski and Samuel Kulczycki, to bring the overall score to 2-2.
At table 3 however, the Singapore men’s comeback has fallen short as Hong Kong China secured a 3-2 win, as Lam Siu Hang beat Josh Shao Han Chua 3-1 (11-5, 11-8, 5-11, 11-8) in the decider.
Team Singapore hits back!
Well, things have completely changed here at Multiusos de Gondomar. Both men’s and women’s teams for Singapore have found their way back into their respective battles with Team Hong Kong China and Team Netherlands.
The men’s squad have brought the score back to 2-2 and look ever menacing with the help of Chew Zhe Yu Clarence’s win over Wong Chun Ting (8-11, 11-9, 17-15, 11-4). For the women’s team, they now lead Netherlands by 2-1 after an injury to Li Jie against Yu Mengyu gave them the decisive lead. Can they push on from here?
Poland at the double
Team Poland are making some big waves in Gondomar right now, as they have doubled their lead against Team Nigeria. In the biggest upset of the day, Jakub Dyjas has beaten Quadri Aruna – and with some style in his 3-1 (11-7, 10-12, 13-11, 11-5) win.
Over at Table 2, Team Austria have levelled things up against Team Serbia as veteran Robert Gardos channeled his absolute best to defeat Dimitrije Levajac 3-2 (11-7, 9-11, 11-3, 5-11, 11-8).
Tough times for Singapore
The women’s and men’s team for Singapore are in a bit of fix right now. Lin Ye and Yu Mengyu, playing for the final qualification slots against Team Netherlands’ Li Jiao and Li Jae had a proper opening battle. The Dutch women’s duo came out on top 3-2 (11-9, 7-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-6) and lead by 1-0.
For the men, things aren’t any better. Hong Kong China have doubled their lead as Lam Siu Hang beat Chew Zhe Yu Clarence in straight games, to give his side a 2-0 overall lead.
Serbia, Poland take surprise leads
Team Austria’s Stefan Fegerl and Andreas Levenko were shocked early in the morning by Serbia’s Zsolt Peto and Marko Jevtovic as they came from behind to win 3-1 (14-16, 11-7, 11-8, 11-8) and give their side a surprising lead.
Meanwhile, Team Poland also managed to upset some Nigerian fans as Samuel Kulczycki and Marek Badowski beat veteran Segun Toriola and partner Olajide Omotayo 3-1 (11-9, 12-10, 9-11, 11-2).
Hong Kong China start well
Wong Chun Ting and Ho Kwan Kit have given their team a deserved lead against Team Singapore as the men’s battle kicks off. Winning 3-0 (12-10, 14-12, 11-5) against Josh Shao Han Chua and Pang Yew En Koen, Wong and Ho look immensely in form.
