n the afternoon session at the European Games in Krakow we witnessed the departure of another favorite in the Women’s Singles event. No. 11 seed NI Xia Lian of Luxembourg lost to Prithika PAVADE of France in the Round of 32. The young French player defeated the experienced NI in six games (10 -8 10 -3 7 9).
“She beat me at the European Championships 4:3 and even then it was a close match where I had a chance. That’s why I wanted to beat her so badly here. NI is an amazing player with so much experience. She has been in the game for a long time and I can learn so much from her ” said PAVADE.
Surprisingly it was PAVADE who showed more patience in this match.
“In the third game NI had the lead but I kept persisting. Then she called for a time-out and I thought that she is not as self-confident as she looks. It could be that she is under stress as well. So I took my chance and seized the opportunity ” explained PAVADE.
Linda BERGSTROM of Sweden defeated Sabina SURJAN of Serbia (6 11 10 -6 10).
“Each game was close but I put her under pressure. Sabina was forced to make difficult decisions ” said BERGSTROM.
The last time they played against each other was a year ago in Bulgaria.
“That is a very long period so I didn’t want to rely too much on that experience. You never know what she could have learned from that defeat.”
Portugal’s YU Fu showed no mercy against Sofia ZHANG XU winning 4-0 (8 4 6 5).
“For me it is always difficult to play the first match at the tournament and it had been a long time since I played against Sofia ” said YU.
Romania’s Elizabeta SAMARA also concluded her Round of 32 duel in straight games defeating Zdena BLASKOVA 4-0 (4 8 7 7).
“For me it is not easy to play against a player whom I have never played before. It was difficult to have such an adversary in the opening match. The good thing is that I feel very well I am in good shape and I am moving very well. So when my body listens to me I am happy ” said SAMARA.
