Just 16 years of age, Prithika Pavade’s qualification is a special moment for the sport and one that will live long in the memory, particularly when looking back at how she achieved the incredible feat.

Seeded 34th, Pavade caught the eye by quite simply making it beyond the initial group stage so her passage to the last four, which included a stunning victory over top seed Hana Matelova, most certainly took the field by surprise. Presented with another challenging hurdle in the form of Russian no.3 seed Yana Noskova, but Pavade wasn’t fazed by the task at hand, striking a 4-1 win (11-5, 11-7, 14-12, 9-11, 11-6) to secure her place at Tokyo 2020!

Against the odds for Pavade, it was the same for Yuan Jia Nan who also toppled higher seeded opposition to turn her dreams into reality.

The no.9 seed recovered from a game deficit twice in her meeting with no.4 seed Shao Jieni of Portugal, going on to beat the host nation competitor 4-2 (7-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-8) to take home the second qualification ticket. Earlier successes over Italian no.5 seed Debora Vivarelli, Slovak no.2 seed Barbora Balazova and Spanish no.6 seed Maria Xiao, added together with her latest scalp against Shao Jieni, it’s fair to say Yuan over delivered in Guimarães.

Two tickets claimed by France, over in the men’s singles draw Ukraine and Spain were honoured with Kou Lei and Alvaro Robles the players to note.

Registering perfect 4-0 score-lines in his previous round fixtures against Belgium’s Cedric Nuytinck (14-12, 11-8, 11-8, 14-12) and Poland’s Samuel Kulczycki (11-9, 11-5, 11-5, 15-13), fourth seed Kou Lei encountered a tighter contest in the semi-finals but looked just as assured, overcoming Romania’s Rares Sipos in six games (11-9, 11-7, 11-8, 4-11, 5-11, 11-6). Kou will make his second Olympic Games appearance having previously been on duty at Beijing 2008!

Meanwhile, an Olympic debut awaits Alvaro Robles after coming out on top in a marathon semi-final tie. Seventh seed Robles was forced right down to the wire against Russian counterpart Vladimir Sidorenko where the Spaniard’s experienced head proved a crucial factor, staying calm in a high pressure situation to book his date with destiny (9-11, 12-10, 14-12, 8-11, 9-11, 11-3, 17-15).

Congratulations to Prithika Pavade, Yuan Jia Nan, Kou Lei and Alvaro Robles who are all Tokyo bound. For the four defeat semi-finalists, another opportunity presents itself in the second knock-out stage.

Draw & Results