MADRID, 6 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish delegation present at the Paralympic Table Tennis World Championships, which are being held in Granada until November 12, secured the first two medals thanks to the qualifications for the semifinals of the couples formed by Jordi Morales and Álvaro Valera and by Iker Sastre and Miguel Ángel Toledo.
The event in the Nasrid capital began this Sunday with the doubles draws in which Spain showed its potential to already have two bronze medals and one more possible in the mixed doubles.
The couple formed by Álvaro Valera, from class 6, and Jordi Morales, from class 7, proved to be one of the tricks and after reaching bronze in Tokyo 2020 last year, they will fight to be world champion in the MD14 class in the Sports Palace.
The player from Madrid and the Catalan entered the top four duos after defeating the Swedes Azulay and Andersson 3-1 (11-8, 11-9, 4-11 and 13-11) in the round of 16 and in the quarter-finals the Brazilians Pereira and Salmun 3-0 (11-9, 11-6 and 12-10). To reach the final they will face the British couple formed by Paul Karabardak and Billy Shilton.
“We have taken an important weight off ourselves by securing the medal in doubles. We have played a spectacular game, phenomenal, now to continue dreaming and enjoying ourselves. If we play as we have today, we have options to reach the final”, Valera celebrated in statements provided by the RFETM.
For his part, Morales recognized that “a new medal tastes phenomenal” and praised the “wonderful atmosphere” of the Palacio de los Deportes. “The stage is the theater of our dreams. A very close atmosphere is created and in difficult moments we are super supported from the stands,” he remarked.
In the MD4 class, Iker Sastre and Miguel Ángel Toledo, both from class 2, also already have the bronze secured thanks to their victory against the Argentines Eberhardt and Bustamante by 3-0 (11-3, 11-4 and 11-8 ). The Poles Czuper and Jakimczuk will be their obstacles to fight for gold.
“We are very happy. It is the first medal we have won in a World Championship. Reaching the semifinals and having a medal gives us peace of mind”, admitted Sastre. “It’s a very important challenge. When you need it, the encouragement of your teammates and the public gives you strength,” added Toledo.
In addition, this Monday a new medal could arrive in the XD17 class mixed doubles modality with the couple formed by the veteran José Manuel Ruiz (class 10) and the promise Pilar González (class 7), who qualified for the quarterfinals at benefit from the abandonment of Jacobsen and Dahlen, from Norway. Danes Peter Rosenmeier, current world champion and world number one in class 6, and Thea Nielsen will be their rivals in the semifinals.
On the other hand, there was not so much luck in the MD18 classes, where Jorge Cardona and Ander Cepas stayed on the verge of the semifinals after falling 3-2 to the Ukrainians Lev and Kats (13-15, 11-9, 11-4, 9-11 and 11-9), and MD8, where Miguel Rodríguez and Francisco Javier López could not in the penultimate round against the Turks Ozturc and Turan (12-10, 11-8 and 13-11). The other mixed doubles, the one made up of Iker González and Cristina Rubio also stayed at the gates of the semifinals against the Germans Bruechle and Mikolaschek (11-4, 11-9 and 11-2).
