Fresh from her ‘best-ever’ three-week training block and another PB, Eilish McColgan returns to Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium this weekend looking to book her place on the GB team for the IAAF World Championships in Doha.
The European silver medallist is one of seven athletes to have achieved the 5000m qualifying time but she’ll line up at the Müller British Athletics Championships as one of the favourites following her UK-leading lifetime best of 14:47.94 run in Hengelo in June.
After a spell spent training in St Moritz, McColgan continued her PB-setting ways at the Müller Grand Prix on Sunday by running a 4:24.71 mile behind Konstanze Klosterhalfen’s German and meeting record time of 4:21.11 and Canada’s Gabriela DeBues-Stafford, to add to the other personal bests of 4:00.97 for 1500m, 31:16.76 for 10,000m and 31:51 for 10km the Scot has clocked this year.
She feels there’s more to come, too.
“I felt a bit rusty,” she said after her mile in Birmingham. “It’s weird, because it’s been such a long season, I feel like back in May and June that was an entirely different season to now. It’s strange to keep racing.
“I had a really good three weeks of training, probably the best three weeks I’ve ever put together.
“I’m just excited now to get into a racing phase and see if I can run some more PBs. I feel like there’s more in me. Hopefully today was the first step towards a good racing phase.”
Fresh from her ‘best-ever’ three-week training block & another PB at the @BirminghamDL (4:24.71 mile), @EilishMccolgan returns to Birmingham this weekend looking to book her place on the GB team for @IAAFDoha2019. Read more ➡️ https://t.co/YP7SeYpntU @BritAthletics @scotathletics pic.twitter.com/qpM9Cm0SRe
— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) August 23, 2019
The women’s 5000m final takes place on Sunday, with European and Commonwealth medallist Laura Weightman, Commonwealth and European indoor medallist Melissa Courtney, US-based Euro Cross under-23 team gold medallist Amy-Eloise Neale and World University Games champion Jess Judd also racing with the Doha standard of 15:22 already achieved.
“Two weekends in the UK, which is quite unusual!” smiled McColgan as she talked about returning to the Alexander Stadium for the trials event just a week after the Diamond League meeting.
“I’ve not got far to travel this week so there’s no excuses for not having fresh legs for Sunday. I’m looking forward to it.”
Erik Hurtado scored on a breakaway two minutes from full time, lifting Sporting Kansas City to a desperately needed 1-0 victory over Minnesota United on Thursday evening in Kansas City, Kan.
Hurtado's second goal since arriving at SKC (9-11-7, 34 points) prior to the season completed a second consecutive victory for the hosts, who moved within three points of the playoff line in the Western Conference.
Johnny Russell provided the service on Hurtado's deciding goal for Kansas City, which now sits ninth. SKC hasn't missed the playoffs since 2010.
Sporting Kansas City close a three-match homestand on Aug. 31 against a Houston Dynamo side that also sits outside the playoff places.
Tim Melia made five saves to preserve just his fifth shutout of the season, on a night the team in front of him outshot visiting Minnesota 22-12 and held 61 percent of the possession.
Melia's opposite number, Vito Mannone, looked en route to his 10th shutout of the year before conceding the goal in the dying moments of the encounter. He also had five saves.
After missing most of the season working back from a knee injury, Hurtado has now appeared in six consecutive games, starting four.
He gave SKC arguably their most important goal of the season on a sequence that began when Ilie Sanchez won possession off Minnesota's Abu Danladi and Darwin Quintero. Sanchez then spotted Russell on the right flank from near the center circle.
Hurtado made a vertical run at Minnesota's back line, and Russell pushed a speculative ball forward into his path.
Hurado beat the Loons' Michael Boxall in pursuit of it, rounded Mannone with his first touch and then finished into an open net with his second touch.
Minnesota (12-9-6, 42 points) came closest to scoring in the 32nd minute, when Melia reacted to deny Hassani Dotson's effort from distance and then Mason Toye's rebound effort.
On the other end, Hurtado had SKC's best early chance, taking Felipe Gutierrez's layoff and forcing a lunging save out of Mannone from close range near the corner of the 6-yard box.
Heather Graham and Erin Burns received their maiden international call-ups, with Australia women naming a 14-member squad for the upcoming six-match limited-overs tour of the Caribbean, beginning on September 5.
Senior batsman Elyse Villani and spin-bowling allrounder Sophie Molineux, who were both part of the victorious Ashes touring party last month, missed out. Molineux, one of the stand-out performers in the one-off Test on the Ashes tour, has a shoulder injury, while Villani's exclusion comes in the wake of her non-selection through the seven-match multi-format Ashes.
Opener Nicole Bolton, who did tour the UK for the Ashes after missing the previous series against New Zealand as part of her five-month break from the game, was unavailable for selection for the West Indies tour that will feature three ODIs and three T20Is.
Products of Australia's robust domestic and pathway set-ups, 23-year-old Graham and 31-year-old Burns were both part of the Australia A squad that toured the UK last month.
Batting allrounder Graham was named Domestic Player of the Year in February on the back of an impressive season with Western Australia and Perth Scorchers. In the 50-over Women's National Cricket League (WNCL) last season, Graham scored 294 runs at an average of 49 including one century and three fifties. In the T20 format, too, she made a mark, picking 22 wickets at an average of 16.95 for Scorchers in the WBBL, to jointly top the wicket-takers' chart with Brisbane Heat's Delissa Kimmince.
Burns, who recently signed up for New South Wales (NSW) Breakers, meanwhile, is a more experienced campaigner. Having played her age-group cricket in her native NSW, she moved to Tasmania and more recently to the Australian Capital Territory in 2018-19, before switching back to NSW, who offered her a contract for the 2019-20 summer.
In the WNCL last season, Burns, who bowls offspin, took ten wickets at an average of 19.2 and finished fourth on the wickets tally. As a middle-order batsman, she was a big contributor as Sydney Sixers made the WBBL 2018-19 final, making 250 runs in 15 innings at a strike rate of 129.53. Burns stood out with her fielding, too, having memorably put in a desperate dive to deny a victory-securing boundary off the final ball in a humdinger of a semi-final.
Speaking of the uncapped pair's inclusion, national selector Shawn Flegler said, "Heather was named the Domestic Player of the Year last season and was a member of the National Performance Squad as well as Australia's 'A' tour to England, so we know exactly what she is capable of with both bat and ball. Her skills with the ball will add further depth to the team's pace bowling stocks while her batting ability could see her play an important role in the middle-order.
"Erin has also been a stand-out performer at domestic level and has had to bide her time for a national call-up. A handy middle-order batter, her off-spin will help to fill the void created by the omission of Sophie Molineux."
Flegler stressed that the plan was to try out a pool of uncapped players who could potentially stake a claim for a place in the squad for the home T20 World Cup next year.
"These selections reinforce our desire to select players with a view to the T20 World Cup next year, who offer versatility, can play a designated role and offer skills in a number of different facets of the game," she said. "Elyse unfortunately couldn't force her way into the playing XI in the recent Ashes series and the selection panel believes the first round of WNCL is an ideal opportunity for her to redefine her batting and present a strong case for selection ahead of a busy summer.
"Nicole has made herself unavailable for selection and we are working closely with her and the WACA to provide her the support she needs as she continues to manage her health.
"Sophie will also miss the tour to give her the opportunity to focus on her shoulder rehab after a large workload over the last seven weeks. With a big season ahead, including the World Cup, it's important she gets her body 100 per cent right and this break will hopefully allow her to do that."
Australia squad: Meg Lanning (capt), Rachael Haynes (vice-capt), Erin Burns, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Heather Graham, Alyssa Healy (wk), Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham
It's Week 3 of the NFL preseason, when we're supposed to get the most serious look at teams before the regular season begins. Unless, of course, you're playing on an 80-yard field in Winnipeg -- as the Oakland Raiders and Green Bay Packers did Thursday -- and you sit the majority of your starters. Elsewhere, Daniel Jones continues to impress for the New York Giants, Tom Brady showed off his "speed" for the New England Patriots and Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers was sidelined after an injury to his left ankle.
We have all of that and more in the biggest takeaways and fantasy football nuggets of the preseason's third week from NFL Nation:
Jump to a matchup:
NYG-CIN | WSH-ATL | CAR-NE | BAL-PHI | GB-OAK | JAX-MIA
Daniel Jones connects with Brittan Golden and Darius Slayton to set up the Giants' touchdown, then hits Golden again before the half.
Daniel Jones keeps checking boxes. The rookie showed physical toughness and moxie in his first road preseason game. He lost a fumble on a sack, but followed it up by making some tough throws on a touchdown drive. The rookie took over the offense after one Eli Manning series. Manning went 4-of-8 passing for 41 yards, which resulted in a field goal. Jones one-upped him. He was 9-of-11 passing for 141 yards. He has completed an impressive 25 of 30 passes for 369 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions through three preseason games. -- Dianna Russini
It was a strong night for a few notable members of the Bengals' recent draft class. Ryan Finley (fourth round) had good preseason performance. He completed 14 of 20 passes for 155 yards. Rodney Anderson (sixth round) starred in his Bengals debut. He caught all four of his targets for 51 yards. And Michael Jordan (fourth round) started at left guard and appears to be the frontrunner to hold that spot when the regular season starts. Even though first-round pick Jonah Williams will likely be out for the year with a shoulder injury, Thursday showed reasons to be optimistic about this year's draft class. -- Ben Baby
The Redskins' offense received a boost from how well second-year back Derrius Guice ran the ball and the defense looked strong again. But the first three preseason games have not engendered a lot of confidence in the quarterback position. The Redskins just don't feel rookie Dwayne Haskins is close; he looks sharp on some throws -- and the long-range potential is obvious -- but they want him to master more of the offense and the nuances of the position. That's fine. But the problem is, Case Keenum hasn't looked sharp and makes his own mistakes. At times he moves the offense, but he sometimes forces plays that lead to mistakes. If Colt McCoy returns to full health, he'd likely get the job. But nobody knows when that will happen. Keenum needs to prove he's a worthy starter. -- John Keim
The Falcons appear to have a kicking problem. Giorgio Tavecchio, whom the team turned the kicking duties over to after saying goodbye to reliable Matt Bryant, missed a 39-yarder on his first attempt against the Redskins on Thursday night. It might not have been such a concern had Tavecchio not missed two from 52 yards against the New York Jets last week, one of which was blocked and the other which sailed wide left. Tavecchio, who also missed a 54-yarder short in the Hall Fame Game against Denver, took ownership for the misses against the Jets and vowed to correct the problem. It's fair to wonder if it's worth bringing the 44-year-old Bryant back for one last run after he made 20 of 21 field goals last season, including a season-long, 57-yarder. Tavecchio is due to make $645,000 this season. Bryant made $3.5 million total last season with a base salary of $1.1 million. Folks around the league expect Bryant to be on some team's roster after Week 1, since the veteran's salary in Week 1 would be fully guaranteed. Maybe the Falcons will revisit the possibility after the season-opener at Minnesota, if not addressed now. -- Vaughn McClure
This starts and ends with Cam Newton's left foot. Yes, a lot went wrong for the Panthers in Thursday's loss to New England. The line gave up three first-half sacks, generated only two first downs and 29 yards in the first half and 63 yards after three quarters. Rookie tackle Greg Little left in the fourth quarter to be evaluated for a concussion. Some things went right, too, namely first-round pick Brian Burns picking up his third and fourth sacks of the exhibition season. But Newton leaving after a sack at the end of the first quarter of his preseason debut with a foot injury is the headline. Backup quarterbacks Kyle Allen and Will Grier are extremely inexperienced. The success of the Panthers depends on Newton, only now add a foot injury to the concern over whether his surgically repaired right shoulder will hold up. The injury didn't appear serious, but the 2015 NFL MVP didn't return to the field after leaving under his own power. He has a history with his left foot, too, undergoing surgery on that ankle in 2014. Is Newton becoming fragile at 30? Are the 1,221 hits he has taken since 2011, more than any quarterback during that span, starting to take their toll? Or will this turn out to be nothing? Coach Ron Rivera said earlier in the week he'd be holding his breath if Newton got hit. He has to be holding his breath hoping that Newton is all right. -- David Newton
Tom Brady methodically works the Patriots down the field to the end zone as they take a 7-0 lead over the Panthers.
Tom Brady made his preseason debut, and though he finished 8-of-12 for 75 yards in three series of work, the highlight actually came with his legs. Brady joked this offseason about his slow speed rating in the Madden video game, and how he was faster than he has been in the past, then showed it (kind of) by lumbering to convert a third-and-3 with a 3-yard rush to move the sticks. That was a big play to extend what turned into a 15-play touchdown march, culminating in fullback James Develin's 1-yard TD dive. Brady wasn't throwing to his full arsenal of receivers, as Julian Edelman, Demaryius Thomas and Josh Gordon (non-football injury list) didn't play, but he was efficient, as usual, leading the attack. The next time Brady takes the field will likely be the regular-season opener Sept. 8 against the visiting Steelers. -- Mike Reiss
Thursday night made it clear -- the Ravens will rely on rookie receivers this season. First-round pick Marquise "Hollywood" Brown caught three passes for 17 yards, but this performance went beyond the numbers. Brown, who was making his debut after being brought back slowly from offseason foot surgery, showed the ability to get consistently open and great quickness in getting in and out of cuts. Miles Boykin, a third-round selection, continued a strong summer with a 44-yard catch. He used his size to break a tackle and his speed to burst up the sideline for extra yards. Starting quarterback Lamar Jackson was held out the third preseason game, but he got an up-close look at his playmaking targets. The Ravens' top three wide receivers on the roster are Boykin, Brown and Willie Snead. -- Jamison Hensley
Five days out of retirement, 40-year-old quarterback Josh McCown got the bulk of the snaps against Baltimore in a weather-shortened game and lit it up. He ended 17-of-24 for 192 yards with two touchdowns, including a beauty of a pass down the right sideline for rookie JJ Arcega-Whiteside that resulted in a 20-yard score. Injuries to Nate Sudfeld and Cody Kessler this preseason prompted the Eagles to lure McCown out of retirement to, at least temporarily, back up Carson Wentz. Thursday's performance suggests he's up for the task.-- Tim McManus
Matt LaFleur called an audible and yanked his starters out of the lineup shortly before the game over field conditions in Winnipeg, where the game was played on an adjusted 80-yard field because of bad spots in the end zones where the CFL goal posts are normally anchored. So any hope of seeing Aaron Rodgers in action went by the wayside. There's a good chance Rodgers will go into the Sept. 5 regular-season opener without any preseason action. On the plus side, he should be healthy as long as the back tightness that kept him out of last week's game doesn't flare up. The star of the night was WR/KR Trevor Davis, who made his preseason debut and did it all with five catches for 78 yards and a touchdown, an 18-yard run on an end-around and a 17-yard punt return. Also, Tim Boyle made a solid bid for the No. 2 quarterback job with a pair of touchdown passes. -- Rob Demovsky
Good luck to Jon Gruden, Mike Mayock and Co. in getting something useful out of this tape. Besides leaving 24 players back in Oakland, the Raiders who did play did so on a short field. Yeah, divots in the middle of each end zone, where the CFL goalposts are positioned, made the field unsafe. The playing surface was limited to 80 yards, with each 10-yard line serving as the reconfigured goal lines. Maybe it's good tape for the Arena League, but the Raiders have some hard decisions to make with their final cuts. At least Keith Smith, who missed most of camp recovering from a torn meniscus in his knee, scored a touchdown on a 15-yard catch and run, serving notice to undrafted rookie Alec Ingold to slow his roll. And for what it's worth, Nathan Peterman got the majority of work at quarterback after Mike Glennon started and played the first quarter. -- Paul Gutierrez
Rookie defensive end Josh Allen overshadowed QB Nick Foles' first game snaps in a Jaguars uniform with a dominating performance. He led the Jaguars with four tackles (two for loss) and also had two QB hits. During the first half he pressured Dolphins QB Ryan Fitzpatrick into a bad throw, beat veteran tight end Dwayne Allen for a tackle for loss, hammered Fitzpatrick as he threw the ball to force an incompletion, forced Fitzpatrick out of the pocket into a sack by Dawuane Smoot and dropped into coverage in the flat and tackled running back Kalen Ballage for a loss. He was the main reason the Dolphins' offense managed less than 50 yards in the first half. Though Allen played at the same time as defensive ends Calais Campbell and Yannick Ngakoue early in the game, he didn't have those guys on the field with him in the second quarter and still made plays. If he's able to play close to this level in the regular season the Jaguars' defensive front could be as good or better than it was in 2017, when Campbell, Ngakoue, Malik Jackson and Dante Fowler Jr. combined for 26.5 sacks. -- Mike DiRocco
Josh Rosen steps up in the pocket and completes a pass on the run to Isaiah Ford for a 39-yard gain.
Ryan Fitzpatrick has been the leader in the clubhouse for the Dolphins' quarterback battle all offseason, but Josh Rosen gave fans some reason for hope. He piloted a 99-yard touchdown drive in the second half in which he showed off his pocket presence, mobility, arm talent and decision-making. The biggest thing for Rosen is that he's continuing to improve. Fitzpatrick had some struggles early but led a touchdown drive of his own. Fitzpatrick might end up the Week 1 starter, but Rosen looks like he will be ready sooner than later. That's good news for Dolphins fans. -- Cameron Wolfe
CLEVELAND -- Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert has been home for nearly a week in Detroit as he continues to recover from a stroke suffered in May.
Gilbert, 57, had spent the past two months in a rehabilitation center in Chicago. On Thursday, Quicken Loans CEO Jay Farner provided a brief update on Gilbert.
"On Friday, Dan Gilbert returned to Detroit to continue his rehabilitation locally," Farner said. "We are extremely thankful for all of the skilled medical professionals who have played a significant role in Dan's recovery and are glad to have him back home."
Gilbert, who founded Quicken Loans, suffered the stroke May 26 after he was taken to a hospital by a family friend. He was immediately taken into a surgery for a catheter-based procedure, which doctors have credited with being a key to his recovery.
He spent more than a month at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan, before going to the rehab facility.
The Cavs and Gilbert's numerous other dealings have operated while he has been absent, and Farner said that will continue.
"While Dan focuses his energy on the rehabilitation process, our teams across the family of companies will continue to execute at a high level, serving and supporting our clients and team members," Farner said.
In a video recorded for Quicken Loans employees, Gilbert said earlier this month he was grateful for the outpouring of support.
The Los Angeles Angels announced Thursday that they're shutting down rookie starter Griffin Canning for the rest of the season after an MRI showed mild inflammation in his right elbow joint.
The team said Wednesday night that he was going back on the injured list just three weeks after the same issue landed the 2017 second-round pick out of UCLA on the shelf.
Thursday's announcement comes just four days after Canning had perhaps the best start of his career, going seven innings and allowing just one run in leading the Angels to a 9-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox.
Canning went 5-6 with a 4.58 ERA in 17 starts and one relief appearance. He has 96 strikeouts through his first 18 major league games, second in Angels history behind Jered Weaver, who had 100.
Andy Murray will continue his singles comeback by playing in the Rafa Nadal Open in Mallorca starting on Monday.
Murray has played in two ATP Tour events and will now compete on the second tier Challenger Tour for the first time since 2005.
The 32-year-old Scot was already due to play two events in China at the end of September, but had hinted that he may add more to his schedule.
Nadal will not be present at his own event as it clashes with the US Open.
Murray pulled out of the doubles in New York to concentrate on his singles career as he steps up his recovery from hip surgery.
He has lost both of his singles matches so far in his comeback, falling to France's Richard Gasquet in Cincinnati and American Tennys Sandgren in Winston-Salem on Monday.
Great Britain's Harriet Dart reached the final qualifying round at the US Open after beating America's Hailey Baptiste 7-5 6-4.
Dart, 23, will play China's 18-year-old Wang Xiyu in New York on Friday as she attempts to qualify for the main draw of the US Open for the first time.
Ranked 140 in the world, Dart overcame Baptiste in one hour and 40 minutes.
Britain's James Ward was beaten 6-4 6-3 by Argentina's Marco Trungelliti in the second qualifying round.
Serena Williams will play Maria Sharapova in the first round of the US Open at Flushing Meadows in New York.
Britain's Johanna Konta faces Daria Kasatkina of Russia while Kyle Edmund will play Spain's Pablo Andujar.
Dan Evans faces Adrian Mannarino of France while Cameron Norrie will take on a qualifier.
Novak Djokovic begins his title defence against Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena while 2018 women's champion Naomi Osaka plays Anna Blinkova of Russia.
Elsewhere in the men's draw, Spain's Rafael Nadal will play Australian John Millman while 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer will face a qualifier.
In the women's draw, 15-year-old Coco Gauff, who beat Venus Williams on her way to reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon last month, will play Russia's Anastasia Potapova. Meanwhile, Wimbledon champion Simona Halep will take on a qualifier.
by BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller
Williams and Sharapova have shared 21 matches and a fair bit of animosity over the years, but this is their first meeting since the Australian Open quarter-final of 2016.
Williams has had back problems in recent weeks, while Sharapova has been limited to just six matches since January because of a shoulder injury.
Daria Kasatkina is a dangerous first round opponent for Johanna Konta. She is twice a Grand Slam quarter-finalist, but is struggling this year.
The British men have decent first round draws, but should they make progress - and then Dominic Thiem could await Kyle Edmund in the third round.
Dan Evans and Cameron Norrie, meanwhile, could face the seeded Lucas Pouille and David Goffin in just the second round.
… There’s only one place to start and that is with Cristian Pletea. He defied the odds to cause what will surely go down as one of the biggest upsets of the men’s singles campaign in Olomouc. The Romanian qualifier summoned his inner warrior, fighting back from a 1-3 deficit to defeat top seed and 2017 Czech Open champion Tomokazu Harimoto in a seven-game thriller (3-11, 7-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-7).
… Another high seeded Japanese player was also halted in round one as fifth seed Koki Niwa fell at the hands of Portugal’s Marcos Freitas. Establishing an early lead in the match but Niwa failed to pick up another game (4-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-4, 15-13). Freitas continued his fine run of form following on from his semi-finals finish at last week’s 2019 Bulgaria Open.
… Following a two month absence from the ITTF World Tour German legend Timo Boll enjoyed a positive return to the international stage, opening his 2019 Czech Open account with a 4-2 victory against China’s Xia Yizheng (11-7, 11-7, 11-13, 11-4, 9-11, 11-8).
… Belarus’ Vladimir Samsonov and Germany’s Dimitrij Ovtcharov won their respective encounters against Ruwen Filus (10-12, 11-9, 11-7, 11-8, 11-5) and Xue Fei (11-5, 13-11, 9-11, 3-11, 13-11, 11-5) to set up a direct head-to-head meeting against one another in round two. Day one closed out with a surprise exit for no.11 seed Wong Chun Ting. He lost out to Chinese qualifier Ma Te (11-8, 7-11, 11-6, 11-7, 12-10).
… Cheers rang out from the home crowd in Olomouc as Czech star Hana Matelova progressed beyond the women’s singles round of 32 for the first time on home soil. The no.16 seeded player faced a tricky customer in Kim Hayeong but calmly dispatched of her Korean opponent across six games (11-8, 11-9, 10-12, 11-4, 4-11, 12-10).
… The player responsible for arguably the upset of the round was Liu Weishan. Falling behind early to Japanese no.12 seed Miyu Kato the Chinese qualifier continued to persist, turning the match on its head with four consecutive game wins to sail through to the next stage of play (5-11, 13-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-4).
… Top seed Kasumi Ishikawa almost joined Miyu Kato in suffering an opening round exit but in the end came good. She recovered from 1-2 and then 2-3 down to see off Chinese Taipei opponent Cheng Hsien-Tzu 4-3 (11-7, 7-11, 8-11, 11-2, 6-11, 11-1, 11-2).
… For those of you looking for inspirational never give up examples then look no further than Austria’s Sofia Polcanova, who turned her back on what looked to be an inevitable defeat. Losing out to Chinese Taipei’s Chen Szu-Yu in the opening three games, the tenth seed responded by claiming the next four games in a row to steal the win (7-11, 9-11, 6-11, 11-6, 13-11, 12-10, 11-8).
… The mixed doubles title won’t be heading to the top seeded pair of Lee Sangsu and Jeon Jihee after the Korea Republic combination were dealt a surprise opening round blow by China’s Ma Te and Wu Yang (6-11, 11-6, 11-6, 10-12, 13-11).
… Amazingly we also lost the second seeds from the race on day one as the experienced Slovak Republic duo of Lubomir Pistej and Barbora Balazova failed to hold off the young Germans Qiu Dang and Nina Mittelham in a tight full distance affair (11-8, 6-11, 11-5, 4-11, 15-13).
… The women’s doubles event also saw the top seeded pair depart. Miyuu Kihara and Miyu Nagasaki bid their farewells: despite their best efforts the exciting young stars from Japan couldn’t find a way past Chinese counterparts Gu Yuting and Mu Zi (11-9, 9-11, 12-10, 9-11, 11-9), who were crowned champions only last weekend at the 2019 Bulgaria Open.
… Puerto Rico’s Adriana and Melanie Diaz carried plenty of confidence into their opening doubles fixture in Olomouc, following their gold medal success at the recent 2019 Pan American Games. However, it wasn’t to be their day as Korea Republic’s Kim Hayeong and Lee Eunhye proved too strong for the Latin American stars on this occasion (9-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-3).
… While the top two seeds avoided an early slip-up, the partnership seeded directly below in third, Chen Chien-An and Chuang Chih-Yuan, did fall at the opening hurdle, missing out on an excellent opportunity: leading by two games but the Chinese Taipei players didn’t convert their advantage , leaving China’s Zhao Zihao and Zhu Linfeng to capitalise (11-13, 5-11, 11-5, 15-13, 11-9).
… Liebherr 2019 World Championships medallists Tiago Apolonia and João Monteiro are also out, suffering a 3-2 loss at the hands of Hungarian fourth seeds Nandor Ecseki and Adam Szudi (5-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-4, 11-5).
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