Table tennis stars secured 18 spots at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games after the conclusion of the World Olympic Qualifiers and the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Doha at the Ali bin Hamad al-Attiyah Arena in Al Sadd Club, with the participation of a group of world champions and top-ranked players, amidst strict precautionary measures, during which the health bubble system was implemented to prevent the spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19).
Iranian no.4 seed Nima Alamian will represent his country in Tokyo after securing top spot in the Central Asia region men's singles event.
A gruelling affair saw Alamian on the backfoot early on against Zokhid Kenjaev with the no.3 seed from Uzbekistan claiming the opening two games. However, a commanding display from Alamian in game three played a crucial role in the outcome of the match with the momentum quickly swinging to the Iranian. Three games later and it was Alamian who left the court with his ticket to the Japanese capital (8-11, 7-11, 11-4, 11-4, 13-11, 11-7).
Central Asia was also the focus of the second singles final of the day as the top seed in the region's women's singles draw, Kazakhstan's Anastassiya Lavrova met the tournament's surprise package in Uzbekistan's Markhabo Magdieva, seeded sixth.
Two players aware of the prize on offer, the final proved an exciting contest with all six games decided by no more than a three-point margin. Difficult to predict from the start, Magdieva did well to fight back from a 2-0 deficit to pull level at 2-2 but Lavrova kept her cool to complete the job (11-8, 13-11, 11-13, 10-12, 11-8, 11-9).
An all-Singapore encounter decided the fate of the men's singles South East Asia event with top seed Pang Yew En Koen and no.3 seed Clarence Chew standing opposite one another.
Just four games were required to settle the match, but not in the expected direction as Chew produced one of his finest performances of the tournament to steal his colleague's thunder (11-7, 11-7, 15-13, 11-4).
There was one more match on the day's agenda with Korea Republic's Lee Sangsu and Jeon Jihee taking on India's Sharath Kamal Achanta and Manika Batra in the mixed doubles final.
The opening two games went to top seeds Lee and Jeon, but the Koreans failed to capitalize on their advantage as second seeds Achanta and Batra hit back with four game wins on the bounce to secure qualification (8-11, 6-11, 11-5, 11-6, 13-11, 11-8).
Khalil al-Mohannadi, President of the Qatari and Arab Table Tennis Federations, First Vice Presidents of the Asian and International Table Tennis Federations, expressed his happiness with the tremendous organizational success of the series of table tennis tournaments in Doha in March, praising the distinguished technical level of the international and Asian qualifiers held at the Ali bin Hamad al-Attiyah Arena
Al-Mohannadi said the successful organization affirms the capabilities of the State of Qatar, which has hosted the longest series of different tournaments throughout the history of the game, which strengthens Doha's position in organizing major sporting events.
He added the guests of the tournament and heads of federations have praised the distinguished organization of the tournaments.
Al-Mohannadi explained that the health bubble was very successful and contributed to preserving the safety of all participants, as the tournament competitions did not record any Covid-19 infection among the players or the rest of the participating delegations. He also congratulated the players who qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
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