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Birthday girl London bound in dramatic finish

 

Birthday girl London bound in dramatic finish

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AOC
Birthday girl London bound in dramatic finish

Table tennis triple Olympian Jian Fang Lay has secured her place in the women’s singles event at the London Olympic Games. Under thrilling circumstances, Lay finished the first stage of proceedings in first place at the Oceania Qualification Tournament in Sydney, the city where she embarked on her first Olympic campaign.

Table tennis triple Olympian Jian Fang Lay has secured her place in the women’s singles event at the London Olympic Games. Under thrilling circumstances, Lay finished the first stage of proceedings in first place at the Oceania Qualification Tournament in Sydney, the city where she embarked on her first Olympic campaign.

Dealt a considerable blow on day one, the top seeded Lay had lost to compatriot Vivian Tan in six games, while New Zealand’s Li Chunli was undefeated. When Lay and Chunli clashed on day two- Lay’s 39th birthday- the Australian excelled under pressure.

Lay won in a tense six games, meaning each player had four wins and one loss each. In such situations it is the result between the two players in question that is taken into consideration. Therefore, it was first place and a ticket to London for a delighted Lay.

The hopes of Australia’s three other female players- Vivian Tan, Miao Miao and Peri Campbell-Innes remain alive. The remaining five players in the women’s event now proceed to a knockout competition to decide the second qualifier; this event is followed by a third knockout event to determine the third qualifier.

Meanwhile in the men’s draw, Olympian William Henzell made light work of his opposition. Henzell defeated compatriots Justin Han and David Powell in the semi-final and final respectively to complete an undefeated campaign. Henzell secured the first Olympic berth, with the remaining Australians in good positions to vie for a further two quota places.

The remaining nine now compete in a knockout event to determine the second qualifier. The seeding is based on the final positions in stage one, meaning Powell is the top seed and Han is number two after he won a tough battle with New Zealand’s Phillip Xiao.

Taya Conomos, AOC with Ian Marshall, ITTF

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