The day began with Paul Drinkhall taking on Hungarian Adam Szudi. After a stellar performance in Stage 1, Drinkhall was not able to replicate form, as he was knocked out in the Round of 32, after losing 4-0.

Anna Hursey began her knockout campaign against Hungarian opposition as well, as she took on Dora Madarasz. After the first two games were shared, it was Hursey who pressed down to claim the all important games to take the match 4-1. Hursey then took on Slovenia’s Sara Tokic in the Round of 16, and she made light work of the 29th seed, powering onto a 4-0 victory to seal a spot in the quarter finals.

It was in this stage that Anna was really put to the test as she faced Tatiana Kukulkova. Finding herself 3-0 down and on the brink elimination from Stage 2, Hursey clawed back her way back into the match, one point at a time, to eventually level the match at 3-3. After a thrilling encounter, it was the Brit who progressed taking the final game 11-9, and the match 4-3 to make it to the semi-finals, and ultimately, one match away from the Olympics.

Tin-Tin Ho started her knockout campaign having been given a bye into the Round of 16, where she faced Luxembourg’s Sarah De Nutte. It was a cagey opening game, which Tin-Tin managed to navigate, ending up with a 14-12 result. The remaining sets were much more routine, as she ended up with a 4-0 victory, to join Anna Hursey in the last eight. In her match, she faced Dutch opposition in Britt Eerland. Despite a strong start, leading 3-1 at one stage, Eerland got herself back into the match, taking the remaining games and ultimately sealing the spot in the semis.

For all athletes who failed to progress through from Stage 2, there is another opportunity to qualify for Paris in Stage 3. The format is exactly the same as Stage 2 in that it will be straight knockout, but your position in the Round of 32 is determined by how far you progressed in Stage 2. The only difference, is that the two losing semi-finalists from Stage 3 will face off in a winner takes all ‘final’ for a ticket to compete at the Olympics.

The Stage 2 losing semi-finalists will be drawn in positions 1 and 32, the Stage 2 losing quarter-finalists will be drawn in positions 9, 16, 17, and 24 (including Tin-Tin Ho), the Stage 2 losing Round of 16 athletes will be drawn into positions 5, 8, 12, 13, 20, 21, 25 and 28, while the Stage 2 losing athletes from the Round of 32 (including Paul Drinkhall) will be drawn into positions 2, 7, 10, 15, 18, 23, 26 and 31.

Results from Stage 2 – 17th May

Round of 32
Adam Szudi (HUN) bt Paul Drinkhall 4-0 (14-12, 11-8, 11-7, 11-4)
Anna Hursey bt Dora Madarasz (HUN) 4-1 (11-5, 6-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-7)

Round of 16
Anna Hursey bt Sara Tokic (SLO) 4-0 (11-4, 11-5, 11-5, 11-8)
Tin-Tin Ho bt Sarah De Nutte (LUX) 4-0 (14-12, 11-8, 11-4, 11-4)

Quarter Finals
Anna Hursey bt Tatiana Kukulkova (SVK) 4-3 (3-11, 13-15, 8-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-7, 11-9)
Britt Eerland (NED) bt Tin-Tin Ho 4-3 (7-11, 11-7, 9-11, 13-15, 11-7, 11-9, 11-9)

Fixtures scheduled for Saturday 18th May

A. Hursey vs G. Pota (HUN) – 9:20 – Table 1

More matches may be scheduled on Saturday afternoon. For a full look at the schedule and draws, visit here.