2016-04-19 16:42:00 CET
Polish young stars among those to fall at final qualifying hurdle in China
Qualification for the men’s pool stage of the Fuzhou Open was done and dusted on Tuesday – but six of the top 10 qualifying seeds all suffered shock exits.
There was no such problem for Thomas Kunert and Christoph Dressler (AUT), the top seeds in qualifying, as they advanced to the next phase after a 2-1 win over Americans Mark Burik and Ian Satterfield.
But among the teams already packing their bags for the next tournament were last week’s success story Michal Bryl and Kacper Kujawiak (POL) – the young duo who made it all the way from qualification to reach the quarter-finals of the Xiamen Open.
Also facing an early exit were second seeds from Switzerland Philip Gabathuler and Mirco Gerson and Oivind Hordvik and Bjarte Usken (NOR).
Now the games come thick and fast as the pool stage commences on Wednesday! Can Xiamen Open champions Pablo Herrera and Adrian Gavira (ESP) make it back-to-back golds? It won’t be easy as they face opposition in Pool E which contains last year’s bronze medallists Youssef Krou and Edouard Rowlandson (FRA).
Number one seeds Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena (USA) take on opponents from Latvia, Austria and China in their quest for a place in the knockout stages while fellow Americans and Xiamen silver medalists Tri Bourne and John Hyden (USA) start life in Pool C with teams from Poland, Germany and hosts China.
The women’s pools will be decided on Wednesday so stay tuned to see where the favorites find themselves as the battle for the knockout stages begin in earnest.
And while you’re at it why not read our preview for this week’s tournament right here!