Russia’s Skachkov stuns Pitchford in Doha to earn Tokyo Olympics ticket

DOHA: Russia’s Kirill Skachkov overcame Great Britain’s No.1 seed Liam Pitchford in the second stage finals of World Singles Qualification Tournament here on Wednesday to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.

Nine Olympic berths (4 men, 5 women) were up for grabs from the competition, which was organised by Qatar Table Tennis Association.

Skachkov won 11-7, 7-11, 11-8, 14-12, 11-7 to complete the men’s lineup for the Olympics.

He became the fourth man after Czech Republic’s Lubomir Jancarik, Hungary’s Bence Majoros and Slovakia’s Wang Yang.

Meanwhile, Thailand’s Suthasini Sawettabut also a ticket to Tokyo along with four other women paddlers.

Sawettabut beat Spain’s Maria Xiao 13-11, 5-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-8 to join the Netherland’s Britt Eerland, Sweden’s Linda Bergström, Russia’s Polina Mikhailova and Monaco’s Yang Xiaoxin in securing qualification.

The tournament was started on Sunday with a total of 73 entries for men and 60 for women paddlers.

The losing finalist and semifinalist from each of the three knockouts will battle in stage two in a final knockout round, where the winner will eventually bag one more spot for Tokyo.