May 20, 2009
2009 Commonwealth Games: Opening Day Conclusion
 Zhang Mo |
 Kelly Sibley Photo By: Ayoade Ademakinwa |
Courtesy of ITTF
Tense duels brought the opening day of play, Tuesday May 19, 2009, to a conclusion at the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships in the Scottish city of Glasgow, with Canada, the fourth seeds in the Women’s Team event suffering a reverse.
They were beaten in a contest that went the full five match distance; despite the splendid efforts of Zhang Mo.
She remained unbeaten, overcoming Kelly Sibley in a thrilling five games duel before accounting for the defensive skills of Joanna Parker.
Hannah Hicks
In the opening contest she suffered agonies against the defensive skills of Joanna Parker while in the duel that brought matters to an end, she won the first game against Kelly Sibley but won no more as the English champion, gained in confidence.
India Survives but Only Just
She saved match points in the final contest against Stephanie Xu in the fourth game of their encounter before dominating the fifth to bring victory to India.
The remaining Indian wins came from Poulomi Ghatak against Stephanie Xu and from Shamini Kumaresan in opposition to Peri Campbell-Innes; the two wins for Australia both came from the racket of Miao Miao.
Attacking quickly in trademark style, she defeated both Mouma Das and Poulomi Ghatak.
Singapore and Malaysia
However, there were no such problems for Singapore and Malaysia in their fixtures that brought the first day of action to a close.
Singapore beat Northern Ireland by three matches to nil while Malaysia handed out the same punishment to Wales.
Group A
In Group A, Singapore is in first place with two wins, followed by Northern Ireland and New Zealand with one victory and one loss each, while Guernsey occupies fourth.
Group B
Malaysia heads Group B with two successes, Wales and Cyprus, both having lost to Malaysia share second spot.
Group C
Similarly, in Group C, Australia and Scotland are in joint second place with India, having recorded two wins in top spot.
Group D
Meanwhile, in Group D, Canada has one win to their credit having beaten South Africa; the only matches played in Group D being Canada versus South Africa and England against Canada.
Wednesday May 20, 2009
The group matches continues on Wednesday May 20, 2009.
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