The draw for the World Table Tennis Championships was held in South Africa starting on Saturday, so many of our players can start with a win in Durban.
| Leonie Heartbrich has a tough first round ahead as 60-year-old Nie Chaliane from Luxembourg remains one of Europe’s leading players (Pic: Chaba Dumotor, Archives) |
Luck plays an important role before every major competition, and this is no different in the case of the individual world championships, which start on Saturday. The World Cup, which returns to the African continent after 84 years, will be hosted by Durban, South Africa. On the Hungarian side, three players and four women will compete in table tennis in five competitions. The organizers drew lots on Thursday, upon which it may be said that Fortuna gave with one hand while drawing away with the other, according to her good habit.
In the men’s singles, dám Szudi was not necessarily happy to discover that Portugal’s Marcos Freitas was waiting for him in the first round, while Pence Majoros could have faced a much tougher opponent than Canada’s Eugene Wang. Of the women, Georgina Botha is probably the best, and Australia’s Melissa Tapper is clearly in a beatable category, but for Austria’s Dora Madarasz’s Sofia Bokanova, Ukraine’s Balint Bernadette Margarita Beszuka, and Leonie Hartbrech in the match against Luxembourg’s Nie Chalian promises to be very exciting. . The interesting thing about the final duel is that, depending on the age, it can also be called a grandmother-daughter duel, as 23-year-old Hartbrich will face Ni Xialian, who will turn 60 in a few weeks.
As for the doubles, a first round seems possible for Ecseki and Szudi, Póta and Madarász, Ecseki and Madarász, but the Hungarian and Danish collaboration for Majoros, Lind needs a major breakthrough to advance.
Opponents of the Hungarians in the first round
men. some. To reach Top 64:
Ádám Szudi (Rank 107) – Freitas (Portuguese, 50)
Bence Majoros (64th place) – Wang (Canadian, 63rd place)
Husband. To get to 32:
Ecseki, Sudi (13) – Aruna, Abiodun (Nigerian, 55)
Majoros, Lind (Hungarian, Danish, 31st) – Cifuentes, Alto (Argentine, 8th)
slim. some. To reach Top 64:
Dóra Madarasz (61) – Polkanova (Austrian, 10)
Blunt Bernadette (109th place) – Bizuka (Ukrainian, 43rd place)
Leonie Harberich (112) – Nie Chalian (Luxembourg, 36)
Georgina Botha (54th place) – Tapper (Australian, 101st place)
Husband. To get to 32:
Botha, Madaras (19.) – Edem, Akpan (Nigerian, 55.)
My husband is mixed. To get to 32:
Ecseki, Madarasz (17) – Chen, Mischek (Austrian, 36)
