In the men’s qualifying group, Paul Drinkhall made light work of Daniels Kogans in his first match, after winning 4-0. In his second, Paul came from two games down to show his resolve and ended taking a very hard fought 4-2 over Niagol Stoyanov. In his final match, Drinkhall took an early 3-0 lead, but Elias Hardmeier made a resilient comeback to make the score 3-2. But Drinkhall held his resolve and ended up winning the match, and as a result, topped the group.
In the women’s qualifying groups, Anna Hursey got off to a flying start by claiming a solid win over Harisa Mesetovic 4-0, which she then followed up by defeating Croat Ivana Malobabic 4-1 to put her in touching distance of Stage 2. And in her match against Finland Marina Donner, she showed why she’s one of the most promising young players in the world, as she breezed through the match to take a 4-0 victory and top her group.
But it was Tin-Tin who claimed the biggest opening match victory for the Brits, as she defeated third seed Maria Xiao in five for the first time in her career to claim a crucial win in her group. Given only three players featured in Group C, every win was made to count. In her second and final group match, she faced regular doubles partner Karoline Mischek, who had also beaten Xiao earlier on. In the table topping decider, it was Ho who came out on top after a solid 4-1 win, meaning she too won her group.
The outcome of Stage 1 means that Paul Drinkhall, Tin-Tin Ho and Anna Hursey all progress to Stage 2. Played on Friday and Saturday morning – this is a knockout format. In both men’s and women’s competitions, those athletes who reach the finals will qualify for the Paris Olympics this summer. The finals will not actually be played. However, the two beaten semi-finalists will face one more match, against each other, with the winner qualifying and the loser being eliminated.
Drinkhall has been drawn against the original 23rd seed Adam Szudi of Hungary. Anna Hursey has also been drawn against Hungarian opposition in Dora Madarasz, seeded 15th, while Tin-Tin Ho has been given a bye, and will face either Sarah De Nutte of Luxembourg (18), or Hursey’s previous opponent, Croatia’s Ivana Malobabic (9).
Friday 17th May
P. Drinkhall (GBR) vs A. Szudi (HUN) – 09:30, Table 2
A. Hursey (GBR) vs D. Madarasz (HUN) – 11:10, Table 3
T. Ho (GBR) vs – S. De Nutte (LUX)/I. Malobabic (CRO) – 16:00, Table 4
Should Drinkhall and Hursey win their first knockout round matches, these are the next scheduled fixtures to take place:
P. Drinkhall (GBR) vs M. Bobocica (ITA) – 13:30, Table 3
A Hursey (GBR) vs S. Tokic (SLO) 15:10, Table 2
Matches will be available to watch on ETTU.TV.
Results from Stage 1
Men ‘s Qualifying Group J
Paul Drinkhall bt Daniels Kogans (LAT) 4-0 (11-5, 11-5, 11-4, 11-2)
Paul Drinkhall bt Niagol Stoyanov (ITA) 4-2 (6-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-6, 11-8)
Paul Drinkhall bt Elias Hardmeier (SUI) 4-2 (11-9, 11-5, 11-2, 6-11, 2-11, 11-2)
Women ‘s Qualifying Group C
Tin-Tin Ho bt Maria Xiao (ESP) 4-1 (11-3, 13-11, 9-11, 11-5, 11-8)
Tin-Tin Ho bt Karoline Mischek (AUT) 4-1 (11-7, 12-10, 5-11, 12-10, 11-3)
Women ‘s Qualifying Group I
Anna Hursey bt Haris Mesetovic (BIH) 4-0 (11-4, 11-3, 11-3, 11-3)
Anna Hursey bt Ivana Malobabic (CRO) 4-1 (11-8, 7-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-8)
Anna Hursey bt Marina Donner (FIN) 4-0 (11-3, 11-6, 11-6, 11-8)
Magnificent three unbeaten to progress to Olympic Qualifying knockout stage Table Tennis England.
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