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Lin Ma and Li Na Lei were dominant again on the second day of the Para-table tennis at the Tokyo Games, while Rebecca Julian qualified to the quarter finals for the first time at her third Paralympics.
Ma started his day delivering a precision-like performance to topple world No.6 Mohamed Kalem (ITA) in straight sets, defeating the Italian for the first time in his career. It was redemption for Ma who was eager not to repeat the result from when the two met at the Rio Paralympics, where he went down to Kalem in the quarter final, losing the chance to defend his gold medal from London 2012.
The Aussie doubled up later in the day, defeating Chee (MAS) with another convincing 3-0 effort to make it three wins from three matches and sail into his class’ quarter finals as leader of the group standings, having not dropped a single game so far.
“I feel really good,” Ma said. “I played really well today because I had a good preparation, thanks to our team who did the match analysis for me.
“Everything feels perfect, I am in good form and in a good mood.”
Li Na Lei also kept her perfect record taking her third win 3-1 in a superb comeback, after conceding the first game to Kim (KOR).
“It feels so good because I had some problems at the beginning, but I was able to get the win,” said the 5-time Paralympic gold medal winner. “I just told myself: you need to trust yourself. You can do it!”
Another splendid achievement came from three-time Paralympian Rebecca Julian, who beat Hammad (EGY) to qualify for the quarter finals – her best result ever at the Games.
“It’s just amazing, I am so happy! After my loss yesterday I just went back to the basics. I analysed Hammad’s previous matches and thought about tactics. Then I just worked on executing my game plan, having a positive attitude and self belief. Now I am taking it point by point, just looking for the next opportunity out there,” Julian said.
Many Australian athletes will have to wait until the end of the preliminary phase tomorrow to find out whether they will progress further into the knock-out draw.
Joel Coughlan and Sam von Einem both posted convincing wins to bounce back from defeats in their opening matches and keep their hopes of qualification alive. Von Einem outplayed Kim (KOR) 3-0 and was stoked not to concede any games to his opponent. The South Australian’s fate will be determined by the last match in the group between Kim and local hero Asano (JPN).
“This was a match I needed to win,” von Einem said. “So it was fabulous to get a 3-0 win, which is a huge bonus. I think I executed my game plan really well. I did everything we talked about [with my coach]. At some stage it was point by point, but I was lucky enough to come through and a 3-0 win is huge.”
Coughlan was similarly elated to take a maiden win at the Paralympic Games. The Queenslander will have a chance to play for a quarter-final berth tomorrow, going into the decisive match with a 1-1 record.
“I was a lot more calm going into the game off the back of my match yesterday. I was a lot less nervous and more confident, so I got to play my game and get on top of my opponent,” Coughlan said.
“It’s good to see the whole Australian Paralympic team getting wins. Everyone is getting behind each other and it was great to see the rest of the Paralympic mob win medals yesterday. It got everyone amped up to play today,” he said.
Unfortunately it wasn’t all good news for the Australian team. Jake Ballestrino is in a tight spot after losing his second match in a row 1-3 against Inoue (JAP), despite a good performance. A win tomorrow against Brazilian Pereira Stroh might not be enough to make it to the next round.
In the Women’s class 10 Qian Yang lost in three very close games to Tien (TPE) and will play for qualification tomorrow against Obazuaye (NGR). Melissa Tapper was disappointed after losing her last pool match against Bruna Costa (BRA) in straight games, her qualification now dependent on other results in the group.
Danni di Toro and Nathan Pellissier both lost their second matches despite valiant efforts and could not make it out of the group stage.
Australian team results – Thursday, August 26
* Men’s Class 7 – Jake Ballestrino v M. Inoue (JPN) 1-3 (12-10, 4-11, 10-12, 3-11)
* Men’s Class 8 – Nathan Pellissier v P. Grudzien (POL) 0-3 (4-11, 10-12, 7-11)
* Men’s Class 9 – Lin Ma v M. Kalem (ITA) 3-0 (11-4, 11-6, 11-9)
* Men’s Class 9 – Lin Ma v C. Chee (MAS) 3-0 (11-5, 11-6, 11-7)
* Men’s Class 10 – Joel Coughlan v A. Olufemi (NGR) 3-0 (11-9, 11-8, 11-6)
* Men’s Class 11 – Sam von Einem v G.T. Kim (KOR) 3-0 (11-5, 11-8, 11-9)
* Women’s Class 4 – Danni di Toro v N. Matic (SRB) 0-3 (5-11, 8-11, 7-11)
* Women’s Class 6 – Rebecca Julian v H. Hammad (EGY) 3-0 (11-6, 11-7, 11-3)
* Women’s Class 9 – Li Na Lei v K.H. Kim (KOR) 3-1 (7-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-7)
* Women’s Class 10 – Qian Yang v S.W. Tien (TPE) 0-3 (9-11, 11-13, 10-12)
* Women’s Class 10 – Melissa Tapper v B. Costa Alexandre (BRA) 0-3 (7-11, 2-11, 6-11)
What’s on tomorrow – Friday, August 27 (all times AEST)
* 10.40am – Trevor Hirth v P. Karabardak (GBR)
* 12pm – Joel Ballestrino v I. Pereira Stroh (BRA)
* 2pm – Joel Coughlan v H. Lian (CHN)
* 5pm – Qian Yang v F. Obazuaye (NGR)
* 7.40pm – Rebecca Julian v M.Alieva (RPC) – QF
* 9pm – Lin Ma v L. Kats (UKR) – QF
