Stalwart stops young star in his tracks
Men’s Singles: Quarter-Finals
Austrian stalwart Robert Gardos faced a severe test in his quarter-final meeting with Rares Sipos, recovering from 2-3 down to beat the young Romanian 4-3 (11-6, 8-11, 11-8, 8-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-9).
The African continent will just have one player to cheer on in the semi-finals after Egypt’s Ahmed Saleh fell to second seed Cedric Nuytinck despite holding a two games advantage at one stage (6-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-9, 8-11, 11-7).
Brazilian hopeful no match for home favourite
Men’s Singles: Quarter-Finals
Despite all his skill and experience on the international stage Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro was no match for Nigerian star Quadri Aruna, losing out to the no.1 seed by a dominant 4-0 score-line (11-6, 11-4, 11-8, 11-6).
Soumyajit Ghosh is also through to the last four, pulling off a fine performance to stun no.11 seed Alexandre Robinot (11-9, 11-9, 13-11, 11-9).
Sreeja Akula marches on
Women’s Singles: Quarter-Finals
In the battle of the qualifiers it was Sreeja Akula who reserved her place in the penultimate round – the Indian player was simply a class above Ida Jazbec, defeating the Croatian by a thunderous 4-0 margin (11-5, 11-2, 11-8, 11-5).
There was another straight games victory in the other quarter-final taking place over on table 1 as second seed Polina Mikhailova eased past Wan Yuan (11-4, 11-9, 11-4, 11-7).
Top seed eliminated by Italian star
Women’s Singles: Quarter-Finals
Against the odds Italy’s Debora Vivarelli has produced one of the upsets of the women’s singles tournament in Lagos with the no.7 seed earning a fantastic 4-1 victory over top seed Barbora Balazova at the quarter-final hurdle (11-6, 11-8, 12-10, 8-11, 11-9).
Fourth seed Yana Noskova was the other victor in the 6.50pm session, holding off a brave effort from Indian qualifier Pooja Sahasrabudhe (6-11, 11-5, 11-7, 9-11, 11-4, 6-11, 11-4).
Epic contest ends in host nation success
Men’s Doubles: Semi-Finals
Nigeria’s very own Olajide Omotayo and Segun Toriola have booked their spot in the men’s doubles final after coming out on top against Saudi Arabia’s Ali Alkhadrawi and Abdulaziz Bu Shulaybi in a thrilling five-game battle (8-11, 11-9, 8-11, 15-13, 13-11).
Elsewhere, the mixed association pair of Belgium’s Cedric Nuytinck and France’s Quentin Robinot are also through, proving too strong for Luxembourg’s Eric Glod and Hungary’s Tamas Lakatos (11-5, 11-7, 13-11).
Russian duo hold on
Women’s Doubles: Semi-Finals
Leading 2-0 on the scoreboard but Russia’s Polina Mikhailova and Yana Noskova were forced to hold off a late fight back from Andreea Dragoman and Lisa Lung, beating the Romanian and Belgian combination in a tight 3-2 encounter (11-8, 12-10, 8-11, 10-12, 11-7).
In the other semi-final it was the Croatian pair of Ida Jazbec and Ivana Malobabic who took the plaudits, seeing off the host nation’s Cecilia Akpan and Offiong Edem in straight games (11-5, 11-8, 11-8).
Slow start but Germans emerge with title
Mixed Doubles: Final
In an exciting mixed doubles clash it was the unseeded pair of Eric Glod and Sarah De Nutte that took the early lead with the Luxembourg duo showing great composure and understanding in each other’s game plan in game one.
However, they couldn’t capitalise on their advantage as the no.5 seeded German combination of Kilian Ort and Wan Yuan struck back with three consecutive game wins to secure the title (9-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-3).
Another gold for Romania
Under 21 Men’s Singles: Final
Cristian Pletea has ensured Romania come away with both Under 21 titles following on from Andreea Dragoman’s success with a powerful outing in the Under 21 men’s singles final. Fourth seed Pletea needed just three games to strike gold, beating Iran’s Amir Hossein Hodaei (11-8, 11-9, 11-6).
Andreea Dragoman stuns top seed
Under 21 Women’s Singles: Final
Romania’s Andreea Dragoman has collected the Under 21 women’s singles trophy in Lagos after pulling off a commanding victory over the top seed from Belgium, Lisa Lung. Winning the opening game by a staggering eight point margin, Dragoman went on to claim a narrow but crucial win in game two before getting the job done one game later (11-3, 13-11, 11-5).
Last eight awaits for Cedric Nuytinck
Men’s Singles: Round of 16
Second seed Cedric Nuytinck will be present in the quarter-finals of the men’s singles draw following another convincing display from the Belgian player.
Making a strong start to his Round of 16 meeting with Kilian Ort and while his German opponent did manage to pick up game four it wasn’t enough to stop the unrelenting force of Nuytinck (11-4, 11-6, 11-7, 12-14, 11-9).
Aruna rolls on
Men’s Singles: Round of 16
Recently 31, crowd favorite Quadri Aruna continued his quest for Gold on home soil as he saw off Egyptian Mohamed El-Beiali in straight games (11-7, 11-9, 11-7, 11-8).
A relentless Aruna looked to be in a hurry as he returned everything El-Beiali threw at him with poise and vigor. Can anyone stop the Nigerian?
Huge upset as Meshref departs
Women’s Singles: Round of 16
African Cup winner and Egypt fan favorite Dina Meshref was soundly beaten by India’s Sreeja Akula, in a magnificent display by the Asian.
Taking a swift 3-0 kead, Akula sent seismic waves across the Sir Molade Okoya Thomas Indoor Sports Hall. Meshref seemed to have been awoken by that, pushing hard in the fourth game. But it was not enough as Akula wrapped up an impressive win 4-0(11-9, 11-6, 11-7, 11-9).
Two Indians too many for Marwa
Women’s Singles: Round of 16
Egyptian Marwa Alhodaby suffered a second elimination at the hands of an Indian athlete as Pooja Sahasrabudhe clinically defeated her in five games.
After losing out in the Under 21’s to an Indian opponent, Alhodaby looked to be making a slight comeback against Sahasrabudhe. However, it was to no avail as the Indian star upped the ante and took the match 4-1 (11-7, 8-11, 11-6, 11-8, 12-10).
Host nation strikes back
Men’s Doubles: Quarter-finals
The home fans finally had something to cheer about as Nigerian duo Olajide Omotayo and Segun Toriola moved on to the semi-finals by defeating Belgian brothers Laurens Devos and Robin Devos (11-9, 11-7, 7-11, 11-6).
It was an important victory after a slow start for the hosts this morning. Elsewhere, Saudi Arabians Abdulaziz Bu Shulaybi and Ali Alkhadrawi took down the French pairing Andrea Landrieu and Alexandre Rabinot in a close 3-2 victory.
And the Euro rail moves on
Women’s Doubles: Quarter-finals
It seems the Europeans are in a united mood to win big in Lagos, as the women’s doubles followed on from the mixed doubles results.
The Romania-Belgium pairing of Andreea Dragoman and Lisa Lung were clinical in seeing off Algerians Katia Kessaci and Lynda Loghraibi (11-6, 11-4, 11-6). At the same time, Russians Polina Mikhailova and Yana Noskova also won in straight games versus Nigerians Funmiola Ajala and Fatima Bello.
All-European final in Nigeria
Mixed Doubles: Semi-finals
The host nation were soundly disappointed in the early hours of Saturday as play began with the mixed doubles semi-finals in Lagos. Nigeria’s Olajide Omotayo and Cecilia Akpan were unable to beat the Luxembourgian pairing of Eric Glod and Sarah de Nutte.
It was a comprehensive win for Glod & de Nutte as they rounded up the match in straight games, giving Omotayo and Akpan no room to work with (11-6, 11-4, 11-9). They will now face the Germans Kilian Ort and Yuan Wan in the final, who saw off Belgian opposition Lisa Lung and Cedric Nuytinck in similar fashion (11-4, 11-9, 11-7).
Knockout stages continue
Look below for the day’s fixture schedule and make sure to watch along live with itTV:
