LONDON: Malaysia crossed their first hurdle in the London Paralympics men’s table tennis team competition by beating Brazil 3-1 in their first round match at the Excel North Arena here Wednesday.
The win ensured Malaysia a spot in the quarterfinals and set up a date with Ukraine Thursday.
After a flying start, Malaysia were in for a surprise when the Brazilians level the tie at 1-1, but two points in quick succession ensured a positive start when men’s team table tennis competition got underway here Wednesday.
In the first singles, Koh Zhi Liang beat Paulo Salmin 11-8, 11-6, 9-11, 11-7 but Brazil came back to level the tie when Carlos Carbinatt edged Mohamad Azwar Bakar 8-11, 12-10, 11-9, 0-11, 11-9 in a five-set thriller.
Mohamad Azwar however, made amends for his earlier defeat by beating Salmin 11-4, 11-5, 11-6 in straight sets to give Malaysia a 2-1 lead.
In the fourth match, Koh who had contributed Malaysia’s first point, clinched the winning point after a five-set thriller against Carbinatt to avenge Mohamad Azwar’s defeat at the hands of the Brazilian.
Koh triumphed 11-6, 13-15, 11-8, 6-11, 11-9 to ensure Malaysia moved on to the next stage.
Meanwhile, in track and field events held at the Olympic Stadium that also hosted the Olympics, Nursuhana Ramlan could only manage a seventh place finish in the women’s F20 Shot put with a throw of 10.71m.
Her throw was however, well below her personal best distance of 10.88m which she had set during the Malaysian Open in April.
Ewa Durska from Poland hurled the iron ball to a distance of 13.80m to erase the old games record of 12.69m set during the 2000 Sydney Paralympics in Australia, enroute to sweeping the gold medal. Ukraine’s Anastasia Mysnyk took the silver with 12.76m while Svitlana Kudelya, also from Ukraine won the bronze with her 12.24m effort.
TABLE TENNIS RESULTS:
MEN’S TEAM EVENT:
Koh Zhi Liang beat Paulo Salmin 11-8, 11-6, 9-11, 11-7
Carlos Carbinatt beat Mohamad Azwar Bakar 8-11, 12-10, 11-9, 0-11, 11-9
Mohamad Azwar beat Salmin 11-4, 11-5, 11-6
Koh Zhi Liang beat Carlos Carbinatt 11-6, 13-15, 11-8, 6-11, 11-9. –Bernama