Highs and lows for Japan

Out of the six Japanese competitors in action in the 3.40pm session of play, three successfully qualified for the women’s singles competition. Surviving a stern test yesterday, Miyu Nagasaki looked significantly more composed as she stormed past Hong Kong China’s Lee Ho Ching (11-3, 11-4, 11-5, 11-7) while Honoka Hashimoto proved too strong for Slovak opponent Tatiana Kukulkova (11-5, 11-6, 11-3, 11-2).

The next Japanese victory also came with defeat as Saki Shibata got the better of fellow compatriot Sakura Mori (11-6, 11-7, 18-16, 11-8). Monaco’s Yang Xiaoxin and Germany’s Shan Xiaona were responsible for Satsuki Odo and Miyuu Kihara’s respective exits.

Puerto Rican partnerships show their steel

Both Puerto Rican partnerships taking part in the second preliminary round of the mixed doubles qualification event emerged victorious, but both pairs were forced to dig deep.

Down 1-2 on the scoreboard, Daniel Gonzalez and Melanie Diaz won back-to-back games to steal a 3-2 victory over Spain’s Jesus Cantero and Ana Garcia (2-11, 11-6, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8) while Brian Afanador and Adriana Diaz held their nerve to beat Belgium’s Florent Lambiet and Nathalie Marchetti (12-10, 11-7, 7-11, 9-11, 12-10).

Desai and Thakkar negotiate thriller

India’s Harmeet Desai and Manav Vikash Thakkar have pulled through a tricky encounter in the second preliminary round of the men’s doubles event, needing a mini comeback and the full five-game distance to battle past Sweden’s Truls Moregard and Jon Persson (11-7, 8-11, 6-11, 11-5, 11-8).

Joining Desai and Thakkar in the main draw is another Indian pair in Sharath Kamal Achanta and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, who recovered from a slow start to beat Turkey’s Ibrahim Gunduz and Abdullah Yigenler (9-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-4).

German combinations reach main draw

Nina Mittelham and Shan Xiaona have successfully qualified for the women’s doubles main draw following another strong outing in the two-day qualification tournament, beating Czech Republic’s Karin Adamkova and Aneta Siruckova in straight games (11-8, 11-5, 11-9).

Germany experienced another victory over on table 8 as Chantal Mantz and Wan Yuan also only required three games to see off French opponents Stephanie Loeuillette and Audrey Zarif (11-7, 11-7, 11-4).

Gardos shows no signs of slowing down

Robert Gardos is on a rampage here in Budapest, with the manner of his wins until now in qualifying. The Austrian veteran just flew past Portugal’s Diogo Chen in a 4-0 (11-7, 11-7, 11-7, 11-8) win.

Meanwhile there was a seven-game thriller between Alexander Shibaev and Slovenia’s Deni Kozul, where the Russian came out on top. Winning 4-3 (4-11, 6-11, 6-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-7, 13-11), Shibaev really pulled out all the tricks in the box to make an amazing comeback from being 0-3 down.

“My partnership with my coach Polina Mikhailova for the match was great. She kept me going and she always gave the right piece of advice. Being 0-3 down and 4-8 down was not so easy to turn around, it may not have happened without her!” Alexander Shibaev

Home crowd celebrates as Szudi fights back

Taking on Kazakhstan’s Kirill Gerassimenko in the 10.40am session, the host nation’s very own Adam Szudi picks up a massive win (7-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-9, 9-11, 11-7, 12-10) to move one step closer to the main event:

“At the start of the match, I think I was trying too hard and trying to play everything to perfection, I put too much pressure on myself. From the third game onwards I focused more on placement and getting my forehand in as early as I could, that worked and I could recover my deficit so the score was level at 2-2… Mentally I was stronger today in every crucial part of the game especially in the deciding last game.” Adam Szudi

Kallberg in the clear

Anton Kallberg had a swift run out this morning in Budapest, needing five games to win against Ukraine’s Kou Lei, after he lost the opening game. Winning 4-1 (6-11, 11-2, 11-9, 11-2, 11-6), the Swedish star was strong in his forehands, and used his wingspan better around the table than his opponent.

“This was the very first time I beat him. I have just played my game safe and with not much risk controlling every shot with quality and this was enough today. I don’t think this was this best match of his life, but I am glad I am through to the next round.” Anton Kallberg

Over at table 3, Japan’s Yuki Hirano needed to dig deep against Slovakian Lubomir Pistej as he won 4-2 (11-6, 11-4, 8-11, 11-1, 10-12, 11-3). There were certain moments where it looked like Pistej might make a comeback, but Hirano was quick to avert that possibility.

“It was a really hard and close match”

Turkey’s Ozge Yilmaz picked up a fantastic 4-3 win over Amelie Solja in the 9.50am session of play (8-11, 11-8, 11-9, 8-11, 11-8, 6-11, 11-6) and following the match the victor revealed her secret to success:

“It was a really hard and close match for me. She had a different style but liked to play against pimples, so it wasn’t a disadvantage. I tried to stay focused on the whole match. In the seventh game, I was 4-2 down but then I changed my serves, I only served short to her forehand and I used a lot of spin for the next ball.” Ozge Yilmaz

Batra reaches the final hurdle

Manika Batra found her form at the right time, seeing off the challenge of Italy’s Jamila Laurenti in a 4-1 (9-11, 11-2, 11-7, 11-3, 11-4) win at the Budapest Olympic Hall, despite losing the first game.

For two Japanese athletes it was a quick outing, as Saki Shibata and Sakura Mori beat Swiss Rachel Moret (11-6, 11-6, 11-2, 11-5) and France’s Laura Gasnier (11-8, 11-2, 11-3, 11-5) respectively, both in straight sets.

Strong start for Nina

Germany’s Nina Mittelham was in a bit of a hurry as she coasted to a 4-0 (11-9, 11-9, 11-5, 11-4) win over Thailand’s Nanthana Komwong with efficiency in her shot-play.

Miyuu Kihara also had a quiet start to the day, with a routine straight games victory (11-8, 11-5, 11-8, 11-6) over Serbian Izabela Lupulesku, taking her no more than 21 minutes.

Who will reach the main event?