Liebherr European Championships   After 3 5 hours of fierce battle Portugal overcame Sweden to reach the final of the LIEBHERR European Championships in Nantes. In five matches Portugal’s Tiago APOLONIA recorded two wins whilst Marcos FREITAS added another one to launch Europeans champions from 2014 into another final.   Jon PERSSON faced the best ranked player once again in Nantes and once again he concluded the duel unbeaten. This time Marcos FREITAS who is ranked at the position no. 10 suffered by the hands of Europe’s no. 28 (5-11 11-8 10-12 11-8 4-11).   “His service game was very good. He played very good here and I did not have many options in that match ” said FRAITAS.       After PERSSON upset the ranking order the next player to suffer against lower ranked opposition was Mattias FALCK who currently occupies position no. 2 at the Continent. Silver medalists from the World Championships in Halmstad faced Tiago APOLONIA listed at the position no. 32. (7-11 11-1 11-4 4-11 12-10). The match had so many turns after relatively close opening game which went on APOLONIA’s account. Mattias won second and third after leading 7-0 in both games. In fourth game the pendulum swung and he was 7-1 in reverse. The match entered decisive game and at 9-8 lead Mattias made mistake that cost him a match.   “I lost to Mattias 0-4 last time we played against each other so I was well prepared. Generally I play very good here ” said APOLONIA   Joao MONTEIRO and Truls MOREGARD played close match that ended in four games (8-11 10-12 12-10 8-11) in favor of Swede. MOREGARD had chance to finish the match in the straight games; he had match ball at 10-8 in third game but MONTEIRO had better plan. His fantastic service gave him space to seal that part of the match 12-10. Eventually it was not sufficient to make dramatic change on the final outcome.   “His service was perfect. I struggled and at this level of Event I had to pay a high price ” said MONTEIRO.     For a few moments it looked like Kristian KARLSSON will enter the arena because he was warming up during the MOREGARD’s match but it was FALCK who faced FREITAS (11-8 11-8 8-11 11-7). He beat him and the duel moved to decisive match in which APOLONIA overcame PERSSON (8-11 11-7 2-11 11-8 11-7).   “PERSSON controlled the game against FRAITAS thanks to his service game. I was under save pressure too. I had to fight hard for my way to beat him ” stated APOLONIA.      

Liebherr European Championships   Never before Women’s Team of Portugal won the medal at the Continental Championships. Today they went step further. At the LIEBHERR European Championships Portugal overcame Hungary to reach the final in Nantes.   Once again YU Fu was the back bone of team’s success Europe’s no. 10 overcame Dora MADARASZ (11-9 11-5 11-9) and on her second exit to the table Europe’s no 7 Georgina POTA (11-9 11-4 7-11 11-4). SHAO Jieni also prevailed against Georgina POTA (11-7 7-11 11-9 11-9).   “Our match against Germany in the quarterfinal was much harder. Here it was important to stop Georgina POTA and we managed to complete that task. Now we have to prepare for Romania. They beat is in 2017 in quarterfinal so we have “history” with them already. However I think now we are better team and well prepared ” said YU.     Szandra PERGEL beat Leila OLIVERA. Leila managed to create the pressure but failed to deliver the game that will eventually bring third point to Portugal (13-11 5-11 7-11 8-11). Szandra won a battle for a fourth match.   “When girls beat Germany we knew it is possible to overcame Hungary. We showed we have enough quality and the confidence boosted. FU play perfectly despite the pressure. Good thing is that SHAO is also in good shape ” explained coach XIE Juan.  

Liebherr European Championships   Daniela DODEAN MONTEIRO moved to second position in team’s line up to meet LI Qian. Reigning European Champion showed no weakness against Daniela (3-11 7-11 11-13).   “I know how to play against LI and I had win against her but today it did not work. She changed her tactic against me. In the end it was really hard to win because she led 2 :0 and so she was very relaxed during the game. So I maybe should have focused more from the beginning to win but generally I am happy with the performance of the team ” said DOEDEAN MONTEIRO and joked.” I have to get up earlier next time.”       Bernadette SZOCS faced pressure at the beginning of the match against Natalia BAJOR. She won the opening one but Natalia took the next before SZOCS settled in more familiar rhythm (11-9 8-11 11-4 13-11).   “I knew that my match was a very important one so I really wanted to win for the team. Of course my teammates did a great job so I am really happy and I hope that we can defend our title tomorrow ” stated SZOCS.       Elizabeta SAMARA maintained her patience to overcome the defensive skills of LI Qian in fourth match (11-8 11-7 11-7).   “I love to play against players with the defensive style of play. Also we know each other from playing together in Tazrnobrzeg and it was additional challenge today. Despite the result it was big match and hard for both of us ” added SAMARA.     Romania is in the final again. Reigning champions justified their status and beat Poland in the semi final of the Women’s Team’s Event at the LIEBHERR European Championships in Nantes. They need four matches to secure their place in tomorrow’s final.   Elizabeta SAMARA was first player on duty for Romania. Her encounter against Natalia PARTYKA was much easier affair than the previous one and she managed to close it in four games (11-4 8-11 11-9 11-3).   “We needed both good opening and closing match and it was not an easy task. PARTYKA beat me last time in the Champions League so I knew I have to play at the top level ” said SAMARA.    

Liebherr European Championships   First time since 2011 Women ‘s Team of Hungary will be on the medal rostrum at the European Championships. Well deserved victory came after nail-biting thriller in five matches against Ukraine.   Georgina POTA was the instrumental of Hungary’s success. She overcame Margaryta PESOTSKA (11-6 8-11 11-8 9-11 14-16) and Ganna GAPONOVA (8-11 12-14 8-11).   “At the World Championships where we played with same system like here they beat us. That is why we put this order of player. I played at position number one to gain some advantage before duel against GAPONOVA. She has very strange style of defensive play and I always played extremely hard matches against her. It was always 4-3 or 3-2 and narrow margin above 10 points in the decisive game. At the beginning I managed to beat PESOTSKA after she put me under serious pressure ” said POTA. Dora MADARASZ overcame Ganna GAPONOVA (2-11 11-13 5-11) but lost to PESOTSKA (11-7 11-2 11-5).   “We beat them in the European Games and that gave me some confidence. Easily I prevailed in the opening game after I had 9-0 lead. In next Ganna had a better start but I closed that game in my favor as well. After 3-1 in third I regained control and sealed the match. It was different story against PESOTSKA. She knows all my weak points and she used it ” said MADARASZ.   Tetyana BILENKO overcame Szandra PERGEL (6-11 11-9 12-10 11-6).         Both quarterfinal matches in the last round of the fourth day of play at the LIEBHERR European Championships went full distance. Hungary overcame Ukraine whilst France beat Poland.   Team of France rewarded the crowd for their adulation by giving a winning performance. There was a task to be completed it was completed – but not without great drama.   Marek BADOWSKI forced Simon GAUZY into defeat (9-11 11-8 6-11 6-11) leaving him no many option to change the course of the match.   The crowed silenced when Emmanuel LEBESSON start going same path as GAUZY in the match against Jakub DYJAS. Jakub won the opening game and he was keeping everything under control until the simple mistake at 7-3 forced him into the further errors. LEBESSON woke up from the spell and won next seven points in the row. Jakub had few attempts to regain the control but he only narrowed the margin.   LEBESSON won the third game but Jakub recovered to take the fourth by narrow margin and decisive game much easier (8-11 11-9 11-9 11-13 7-11). Can AKKUZU overcame Maciej KUBIK to bring back France back in game (11-5 12-10 17-15).   Simon GAZY showed his brave face against DYJAS and won the battle for the decisive match (11-8 11-4 7-11 11-7). LEBESSON beat Marek BADOWSKI (11-7 11-8 9-11 14-12) to launch France into the semi final.   “I had few chances in the match against DYJAS I recovered and got the lead but in the fifth game he was just better. It will be easier that we had 1-1 but we were ready for the 0-2 scenario. We know we could recover from that and win the match. That is exactly what happened and at the end the victory only maters ” said LEBESSON.   AKKUZU changed the direction of the match: ”I had to stay focused because we did not have place for mistake. The pressure was high.”   Simon GAUZY thanked the supporters: ”We were favorites but the pressure took its tool. The first two matches were really big and they finished in their favor but on our second exit to the table we raised the level of our game. We both played at the highest level. The spectators helped us a lot.”       

Liebherr European Championships   Title-holder team of Romania reached the semi final of the Women’s Teams Event at the LIEBHERR European Championships in Nantes.Romania accounted for France and by doing so they inflicted the pain in the harts of the host nation supporters. Elizabeta SAMARA gave Romania the dream start by beating Laura GASNIER in straight games (10-12 9-11 9-11).   “I already played against lefthander yesterday so it was good decision to open the match and to face French no. one player GASNIER. I was ready for the challenge. It was also important that we catch an early lead because the crowd is very enthusiastic. The team of France has incredible support here. However they also love table tennis so we have been departed from the arena after the victory with the huge applause “underlined Elizabeta SAMARA.   Bernadette SZOCS overcame Marie MIGOT (6-11 7-11 11-7 9-11) and Daniela DODEAN MONTEIRO succeeded against Audrey ZARIF (9-11 4-11 7-11).   “I was very confident. Yesterday we had a time to watch their match and to stydy their game. I was ready for every line up ” said SCOZS.   Next challenge will be Poland.   “The chances are 50-50. I am playing in the same club in Poland with LI Qian also national coach is my club coach…It is going to be hard to beat them and I expect good match as well ” said SAMARA.         Portugal will not leave the European Championships without the medal once again. After gold of Men’s Team in Lisbon silver in Luxembourg and bronze in Gdansk they reached the medal rostrum once again in Nantes. In the quarters they prevailed against Austria.   It was Austria who had a better start Tiago APOLONIA lost to Robert GARDOS (11-13 7-11 6-11).   “Despite the 10-7 lead in the opening game I did not manage to close it. He plays at very high level here and already proved it yesterday. Thankfully FREITAS and MONTEIRO did a great job after me and I was back to the table at 2-1. It was much easier and I controlled the match ” said APOLONI who overcame Daniel HABESOHN (11-6 11-4 11-3) in fourth match.   Marcos FREITAS beat Daniel HABESOHN (11-8 11-6 9-11 11-7): “It was little difficult because we were down one match and in addition he beat me in the duel for the third position at the Top 16 Cup. I managed to control the match this time.”   Joao MONTEIRO widener the lead with the victory over Stefan FEGERL (11-3 11-1 8-11 11-7).   “They already beat us in two previous occasion so we were very cautious. FEGERL struggled with my service game he could not receive well so it gives me power to control the rhythm of the game. I was very confident even in the moments when I lost third game. Very quickly in next one I was in the lead and finished the match.”  

Liebherr European Championships   Jon PERSSON proved again as fantastic team player he paved the path to Sweden’s win over England.He had performed expertly in the opening game to overcame Europe’s no. 5 just one day after Liam PITCHFORD beat legendary Vladimior SAMSONOV. Liam came close in the third game but he could not stop Jon (6-11 7-11 11-13).   “I managed to halt any of hiss attempt to impose his rhythm. My service and receive was on high level and it blocked him. I controlled the game until the third game 10-6 he narrowed the gap but I concluded it successfully ” explained Jon.   On a remark that Liam is his best Europe top 10 win he just smiled: ”I beat Mattias once that counts too.” Mattias FALCK was on top his game today against Paul DRINKHALL (2-11 11-7 7-11 2-11). His risky attacks gave no many options to DRINKHALL.   Truls MORGARD was next in line up. He faced Samuel WALKER. The player that promises a successful era for Sweden and already established himself against more experienced players seized his opportunity in a victorious style. In solid performance he justified his rankings and overcame WALKER in four games (11-9 6-11 6-11).     Portugal won first ever medal at the Women’s Teams Event at the European Championships. In the quarterfinal in Nantes they overcame Germany no. two seeds. In Men’s Event Sweden overcame England.   The duel against Germany stretched to full distance. HAN Ying opened the encounter with the victory over SHAO Jeni (11-8 15-13 11-13 11-5) but YU Fu brought Portugal back on tracks with thrilling 3-2 victory over Petrissa SOLJA (12-10 6-11 8-11 11-9 5-11). SHAN Xiaona succeded against Rita FINS (11-3 11-2 11-5) before Nina MITTELHAM entered the game to meet YU Fu. It did not surprise their adversaries so YU secured another point and it was once again to SHAO to play decisive match (11-4 8-11 4-11 8-11). In the duel against SOLJA SHAO was two games down but recovered to win (11-9 11-6 9-11 2-11 6-11).   “Before the match I was nervous because Germany has a really good and dangerous team. That is why I played slowly in the beginning of the match but when I was down to 2 :0 I knew I had to be more aggressive play harder and put more speed into the match ” said SHAO Jeni.  

Liebherr European Championships   Germany in Men’s Team’s Event and Poland in Women’s secured their place in the semi final of the LIEBHERR European Championships. Germany beat Slovenia and Poland overcame Netherlands.   The duel against Slovenia ended in straight matches but it was not that easy for reigning champions as the result predicts. With sharp attacks to the middle Darko JORGIC built big 2-0 advantage against Dimitrij OVTCHAROV but he failed to withstand the pressure in the third game. OVTCHAROV moved to another gear and recovered to win the third game and he dominated in next. In decisive game Darko save match balls at 10-7 but OVTCHAROV managed to seal the match eventually at 10-12 (19-17 12-10 8-11 4-10 10-12).   “So far I had negative record against JORGIC. He is excellent player and he beat me twice before. I had to change my game today to adapt few things to beat him ” said OVTCHAROV.   Solid performance from Timo BOLL left no many options to Bojan TOKIC who left the arena after straight games (9-11 9-11 8-11).   “It was not that easy. It was very close duel in both Dimas and my match. Only Patrick’s match was less uncertain ” said BOLL.   Deni KOZUL Patrick FRANZISKA (8-11 6-11 6-11)       In the match between Poland and Netherlands European singles champion LI Qian was the back-bone of team’s success. She secured two points against both Britt EERLAND and LI JIe.   “We did not have place for error. I had to win both my matches and it put a lot of pressure which made game more difficult. Natalia gave her best against LI at some moments she were close but failed to post the victory. She wanted so much to win and it made her very nerveus. It is good that BAYOR was very strong today and overcame Kim ” said LI Qian. ”My matches against LI are always difficult. We played against each other so many time there are no secrets and hidden aces.” LI Qian overcame Britt EERLAND (11-9 11-6 11-7) and LI Jie (11-8 11-5 15-13) LI Jie beat Natalia PARTYKA (6-11 10-12 4-11) and Natalia BAYOR succeeded against Kim VERMAAS (11-8 11-9 13-11).    

Liebherr European Championships   Motivated by the fantastic crowd in the Salle Sportive Matropolitaine France showed no mercy in the match against Slovakia in the last round of the Group phase of the Men’s Team’s Event at the LIEBHERR European Championships.   France accounted for Slovakia and Spain to reach the quarterfinal where they will meet Poland. Second match in the group was easier than one against Spain; Slovakia failed to post single victory.   European vice-champion in singles from Hungary and quarterfinalists from the World Championships Simon GAUZY overcame Alexander VALUCH: “I feel good since the beginning of the week. I’m happy to play in France. My brother lives here. I feel good in Nantes. We did not underestimate our adversary. I had never played against VALUCH. I did not know him. I just knew he is notorious of good play against stronger players. It made an interesting match.”   European champion in Singles from 2016 Emmanuel LEBESSON overcame Lubomir PISTEJ: “We started the game perfectly. We knew we needed two points but we did not think about it. The three players were irreproachable. I am happy to play the quarter-finals. It will be a difficult match for the medal. Poland is not an easy team. They won two 3-2 matches in the group. They were at the top in important moments.”   Can AKKUZU beat WANG Yang: “It’s been a long time I had played against the player with the defensive style of play. I beat him and in front of a lot of spectators. It is very good. I’m happy for the team. This is the first match that I win with the France team. And I did it in France! “       Hour after Men’s match Salle Sportive Matropolitaine erupted again; this time for girls. After full five matches host nation patiently found the way through determined Luxembourg to reach the quarterfinal.   Laura GASNIER was stretched to full five games against Sarah DE NUTTE but she could not found the answer for experienced NI Xia Lian. NI made it two by beating Pauline CHASSELIN as well. Audrey ZARIF beat Tessy GONDERINGER.   In the fifth match Marie MIGOT overcame DE NUITE in five games. In decisive one she showed better nervous and brave heart.   “It was a delicate match. I knew this morning that I will be in the team tonight. It was my first match in the senior European Championship. I was under pressure. But the atmosphere in the venue reminded me of the championships of France 2019 where I was successful. Now we will have nothing to lose against Romania ” said MIGOT.       Austria also reach quarterfinal. They beat Denmark after five long matches. The backbone of Austria’s success was Robert GARDOS. He overcame Jonathan GROTH in the opening one and Anders LIND in decisive match.   “Even I am surprised that I beat GROTH in such style. I was ready for weeks I play very well but still… straight games win was not what I thought I could achieve ” said GARDOS.”Now we will meet Portugal. They are very strong team but with the performance that we showed here I am confident we have a chance.”   LIND prevailed against Daniel HABESOHN and Daniel also suffered against GROTH. Stefan FEGERL overcame Tobias RASMUSSEN.             Ukraine beat Austria in five matches thriller. Margaryta PESOTSKA needed five games to overcame LIU Jia but she failed to post the victory against Sofia POLCANOVA. Ganna GAPONOVA also failed to stop POLCANOVA whilst Tetyana BILENKO accounted for Amelie SOLJA.   In last duel GAPONOVA beat LIU Jia:”I am so happy and I must say surprised. I did not expect such good game from myself. In each moment even it was good or bad ball I did not lose my confidence. I felt perfect. As the game went on I was more and more sure. In the final stages of the duel the thought that I could win gave me extra power. We never beat Austria before. I am so happy that we finally did it and I am happy that I got the chance to be the player to seal this encounter ” said GAPONOVA.  

Liebherr European Championships   In the eve of the match of the qualifications for the European football championships Romania vs. Spain Romania’s Women’s team beat Spain at he LIEBHERR European Championships in Nantes. Straight after victory and their qualification to the Round of 8 in France girls sent the video message home to support football players; it will be played before the match at the stadium in Bucharest.   They reached the quarterfinal without loosing singles match in the duels against Spain and Slovakia. Today Bernadette SZOCS overcame Galia DVORAK.   “My match was not an easy one but I was prepared very well for my adversary as I knew against whom I will have to play. We are really happy with our performance today and this victory certainly gave us more confidence for our next game ” said SZOCS.   Elizabeta SAMARA overcame Maria XIAO: “It was the first time that I played against her and playing the first game against someone you don’t know is always very hard. But I could adapt to her game and in the last game I was always leading and I knew that I can win. So I would say that I was pretty confident during the whole game which helped me a lot to achieve a victory.”    Daniela MONTEIRO DODEAN beat ZHANG Huan: “She is palyer who risk a lot. Esspecially in the last game she played at the edge. I was just trying to play safely all the time and I know that I have to keep focus if I want to win a game. Generally I think it was a just a good start and we are looking forward to our next game. We are here for more.”       Germany joined Romania in knock out phase after victory over Italy. HAN Ying beat Debora VIVARELLI Petrissa SOLJA overcame Giorgia PICCOLIN.   “In the beginning of the game I have made it hard for myself but fortunately I regained the right rhythm. It also was my first match at the European Championships and you always need sometime to find your rhythm and to get used to the new game conditions. Generally  I am happy with my performance today and of course with the result . Tomorrow is a new day and Portugal is a really strong team so we will have to play even better and improve ourselves but I stay positive that we can win tomorrow ” said SOLJA.     Nina MITTELHAM beat Jamila LAURENTI: “There is always a certain tension during a game and you always want to win of course. My match today wasn’t an easy one but I am happy with my performance and with the performance of the team. We won 3 :0 today and I also stay positive that we can win the game tomorrow if we keep calm and stay concentrated. The team of Portugal is a really strong team but together we can do it ” added MITTELHAM.        Portugal reached the quarterfinal of the Men’s Teams Event after solid performance against Greece. Marcos FREITAS showed n o weak spots against Panagiotis GIONIS.   “Every match is important . Everyone of us played very well. For me the most important was to stay calm and to always be patient. I did not play against him for a very long time but as I started the game pretty well I gained confidence and could finally win this match for the team ” said FREITAS.   Joao MONTEIRO had answer to all Kalinikos KREANGA’S attacks and Tiago APOLONIA did not allow Ioannis SGOUROPOULOS to prolong match any further.   “All together we played very good and the 2 :0 lead helped me to become more confident in my own game. I hope that we will continue like that in our following match ” said APOLONIA       Germany’s win against Russia could look easy if we overlook a little “hick up” in the middle when Dimitrij OVTCHAROV was two games to null in reverse against Alexander SHIBAEV.   “The first two games against SHIBAEV were really hard for me but then I managed to overcome this first hard phase of the game I gained more confidence and became better with each rally. But beside that the most important is that the team won and that we are qualified for the next round. I must say I had to play against someone who knew how to play against me how to react to my serves and who played very safely and confidently during the whole game ”  explained OVTCHAROV and added:”The team of Slovenia have really motivated and strong players so I’d say it is a pretty tough drawing. They are all in a good shape but we are too!”   Timo BOLL overcame Kirill SKACHKOV in four games and by same margin Vladimir SIDORENKO lost to Patrick FRANZISKA.   “Actually the game was how we have expected it to be. It is totally normal that it can be more stressful sometimes but we are happy that we won 3 :0 even if sometimes it was a bit closer then we thought it would be. All of our adversaries played very good very safe and they knew how to react to our game. But in moments like this you just have to force yourself to push yourself to your limits and to concentrate 100 percent ” said Timo BOLL.   FRANZISKA added: ” I know the slovenian team very well because they all exercise in my club in Saarbrücken and all I can say is that all of them are young motivated players and that it won’t be easy to win . They are a team of fighters so we will have to fight back.”        

Liebherr European Championships   Sweden reached the quarterfinal of the LIEBHERR European Championships in Nantes after they beat Romania in the second round of the Group phase. Poland joined them after victory over Belgium whilst in Women’s Team’s Event Sweden lost to Poland who remained unbeaten and also reach the knock out stage. Portugal accounted for Russia.   Sweden needed three matches to finish the job that stated yesterday with the victory over Hungary and to reach the knock out phase. Unlike yesterday this time Kristian KARLSSON was in line up. He played at position no. three. Jon PERSSON and Mattias FALCK both were successful in their matches. PERSSON needed only three games to beat Ovidiu IONESCU whilst FALCK was stretched to full distance against Rares SIPOS.   “I had really close matches here. They were really hard to win. Today I played a bit better than yesterday against Hungary but for the next match I will have to focus more. Our next one will be against England and they are a really strong team ” said FALCK.   KARLSSON was forced to go full distance as well. He overcame PLETEA.   “Cristian came in superb shape in France. It was difficult to play against him. I am coming from injury so I am very pleased after this victory. Also I am looking forward our match against England. They are our friends and I am sure it will be good match to watch ” said KARLSSON.     Poland justified their rankings but they were under severe pressure against Belgium. Marek BADOWSKI played like he is on fire. He beat Cedric NUYTINCK and Florent LAMBIET. LAMBIET overcame Jakub DYJAS Samuel KULCZYCKI suffered against NUYTINCK. NUYTINCK also suffered against DYJAS   “It was great pressure on everyone. It is the last match in group but with only three teams in it is almost like knock out phase. This match was directly for quarters.  During the whole game against LAMBIET I felt confident so the first two games were really good but then he improved his game and became better and better with each rally. I didn’t really know what I could do better because I already played the best I could. I asked my coach what I can do better to finally win the match. I just tried to focus more and fortunately I won the duel ” said BADOWSKI.       In Women’s Team’s Event Poland overcame Turkey yesterday and today they beat Sweden. Natalia PARTYKA however suffered in the opening match against Matilda EKHOLM.   “She is very difficult player to beat and she played really well. On the other side I did not take advantage of few leads I had. I won opening game had 10-8 in third in fourth I was again up…I was behind with little things ” said PARTYKA.   LI Qian was at the top of the game. She overcame Linda BERGSTROM and EKHOLM.   “I was very nervous before the match and Linda took advantage of that. She got the lead. She forced me to change the tactics and to attack more. Against EKHOLM I played better ” said European Singles Champion LI.   Natalia BAYOR overcame Christina KALLBERG: “Last time I played against her three years ago and it is really long time since she is very young player. That made me nervous but with little change of pace and tactics adjustment I succeeded.”       Portugal reached the quarters after thrilling five matches against Russia. After victories against Yana NOSKOVA and Polina MIKHAILOVA YU Fu was the instrumental of Portugal’s success.   “That was the crucial thing – to win both my matches. Luckily SHAO Jeni managed to finish the decisive one victoriously but it was very close. She did not crack under pressure and showed brave performance against NOSKOVA ” said YU FU.   SHAO lost her first match to Polina whilst Olga VOROBEVA overcame Leila OLIVEIRA.