(by Steve Hopkins)
Without TeamUSA qualifying for the Men’s team event at the Olympics, our men were forced to compete in individual qualifiers. After proceeding through the first round, both Nikhil Kumar and Kanak Jha are competing this week in the ITTF Americas Olympic Qualification event in Lima, Peru. The men present were split into two groups, with the winner of each group claiming one of the four spots at the Olympics. Each player has two chances to qualify – winning one of the two events played Tuesday/Wednesday of this week, or winning on of the two events to be played on Friday/Saturday.
Nikhil Kumar was placed in Group KO1. He won his first match on Tuesday against Tyrese Knight of Barbados 4-0. Nikhil then moved into the Quarterfinals where he defeated second seeded Brian Afanador 4-0. Nikhil will next face Alberto Mino (the third seed), and if he wins, he will play the winner of Nicolas Burgos (the top seed) and Santiago Lorenzo (the second seed) – with the prize being a coveted spot at the Olympics in Paris.
Kanak Jha was placed in Group KO2. He won his first match 4-0 over Diego Orantes of El Salvador. Kanak next faced top seeded Andy Pereira, and managed a come-from behind 4-3 win. Pereira led 2-0 and 3-1 before Kanak ran off three games in a row to win. Kanak’s next opponent is Marcelo Aguirre. In the other Semifinal Horacio Cifuentes will face Marcos Madrid.
More matches are scheduled for Wednesday – and for those that don’t win, this will all reset for another round at the end of the week.
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