Netherlands back in control

Team Netherlands have again taken the lead against hosts Portugal, as Li Jiao beat Luo Xue in a fiercely fought 3-1 (11-4, 8-11, 11-9, 11-8) win, bringing the score to 2-1 in the favor of the Dutch.

Also, Team Belarus have found a way to take Team Spain to a decider – Nadezhda Bodganova beating Sofia Xuan Zhang in straight games!

India and Belarus in trouble

Team France and Team Spain have both built on their comebacks and now lead their opponents, Team India and Team Belarus, by 2-1 overall.

Yuan Jia Nan for France saw off Surtirtha Mukherjee in straight games, and Galia Dvorak beat Katsiaryna Baravok in a similarly swift fashion (11-9, 11-9, 11-4).

France level up, so do Ukraine

India’s Manika Batra is having a rough couple of days as she lost out to Marie Migot pretty much the same way she lost to Daniel Monteiro yesterday. In a pendulum battle with one-game each, the French Migot had a lot more going for her which allowed her a swift 3-2 (11-7, 3-11, 11-9, 3-11, 11-7) win over the Indian, making the overall score 1-1.

Team Ukraine have also followed in that stead, levelling up against Korea Republic, thanks to Margaryta Pesotska winning 3-1 versus Lee Eunhye.

Spain and Portugal claw back

The home support has brought the fight back into the match between Team Portugal and Team Netherlands, as Yu Fu beat Britt Eerland after starting a game down (2-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-4).

Similarly, Maria Xiao has rallied her troops as Spain levelled the scores against Belarus, when she saw off Nadezhda Bodganova in a splendid show of forceful of forehands (9-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-3).

India begin with a battle

Team India are off to a rocky, yet positive start against Team France, as the women’s quarter-final on table 4 needed a five game kick-off. Ayhika Mukherjee and Surtirtha Mukherjee came from 1-2 down to win their first battle 3-2 (11-7, 6-11, 10-12, 11-4, 11-8) against Stephanie Loeuillete and Yuan Jia Nan.

Meanwhile, Korea Republic’s Shin Yubin and Choi Hyojoo also needed five games to see off Team Ukraine’s Bilenko Tetyana and Ganna Gaponova (11-7, 8-11, 11-2, 9-11, 11-8).

Netherlands start strong, so do Belarus

Good morning from Gondomar, Portugal where the home fans are not in good spirits – Team Netherlands have taken an early lead against home favorites, Team Portugal after Kim Vermaas and Li Jiao beat Jieni Shao and Luo Xue in the women’s team event (11-9, 11-9, 14-12).

In the other quarter-final, Team Spain have fallen behind to Team Belarus, where Daria Trigolos and Katsiaryna Baravok saw off the challenge of Galia Dvorak and Sofia-Xuan Zhang 3-1 (5-11, 13-11, 11-6, 11-9).

The draw

10.00 Belarus v Spain, Ukraine v Korea Republic, Netherlands v Portugal, India v France

19.00 Belarus or Spain v Ukraine or Korea Republic,  Netherlands or Portugal v India or France

16.00 Czech Republic v India, Great Britain v Hungary, Slovakia v Belgium, Hong Kong China v Poland

Keep up with the score!