Portuguese table tennis players have had a mixed start at the World Championships in Doha. Jieni Shao, João Geraldo, and Marcos Freitas won their first-round matches, while Tiago Apolónia and João Monteiro were eliminated.
Shao, ranked 59th in the world, came from behind to beat Malaysian Chang Li Sian 4-2. Chang had taken an early lead, but Shao fought back to win 8-11, 11-9, 11-7, 9-11, 11-4, 11-8. She’ll face Japan’s Satsuki Odo, the world’s eighth-ranked player, in the next round.
Men’s Results
In the men’s competition, João Geraldo, ranked 125th, had a straightforward win over Slovenia’s Deni Kozul, 108th in the world. Geraldo won 14-12, 11-5, 11-5, 15-13. Marcos Freitas, 98th, beat Singapore’s Pang Koen 4-1. Freitas won 11-8, 11-6, 11-9, 9-11, 11-6. He’ll face either Egypt’s Omar Assar or Croatia’s Frane Kojic in the next round.
Geraldo will play China’s Jingkun Liang, the world’s fifth-ranked player. If both Geraldo and Freitas win their next matches, they’ll face each other in the third round, guaranteeing at least one Portuguese player in the last 16.
Eliminations
Tiago Apolónia, Portugal’s highest-ranked player at 92nd in the world, lost to India’s Manush Shah, 75th. Shah won 11-6, 2-11, 11-7, 11-6, 5-11, 11-6. João Monteiro, 159th, was beaten by South Korea’s Na Jaehyun, 18th. Monteiro pushed the match to a deciding seventh game but ultimately lost 10-12, 11-7, 11-9, 11-1, 3-11, 8-11, 11-9.
In the women’s competition, Fu Yu, Portugal’s other Olympic representative, is yet to play her first-round match. She’ll face Germany’s Yuan Wan, 62nd in the world, on Sunday.