The first factor 40 tournament of the year, the highest weighting for World ranking points at an Open International Para tournament, Paris 2024 very much in mind, those with the highest ambitions are present in Slovenia.
An entry in excess of 400 players compete in Lasko, the five-day tournament commencing on Tuesday 9th May
Reigning Paralympic Games and World champions are set to ply their skills; in the men’s singles Frenchman Fabien Lamirault (class 2), Germany’s Valentin Baus (class 5) and Belgium’s Laurens Devos (class 9) all compete, as in the women’s singles does Ukraine’s Maryna Lytovchenko (class 6).
Moreover, a further 10 names who struck gold at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games can be added to the list.
In the men’s singles China’s Feng Panfeng (class 3), Yan Shuo (class 7) and Zhao Shuai (class 8) alongside Turkey’s Adullah Ozturk (class 4) and Hungary’s Peter Palos (class 11) compete.
Likewise, in the women’s singles, the Chinese names of Liu Jing (class 2), Xue Juan (class 3), Zhou Ying (class 4), Zhang Bian (class 5) and Mao Jingdian (class 8) all appear on the entry Lasko entry list.
Moreover, present in Lasko, the names of seven men and nine women can be added to the reigning World champions list.
Korea Republic’s Nam Kiwon (class 1), Kim Junggil (class 2) and Kim Gitae (class 11) will be present in the men’s singles events, as will Germany’s Thomas Schmidberger (class 3), Italy’s Matteo Parenzan (class 6), Great Britain’s Will Bayley (class 7) and Ukraine’s Viktor Didukh (class 8).
A most comprehensive list, in fact only one female player who struck gold at the Andalucia 2022 Para World Championships will not be present in Lasko; the only absentee is Australia’s Yan Qian (class 10).
Additional to Maryna Lytovchenko, Poland’s Dorota Buclaw (class 1), Italy’s Giada Rossi (class 2), Korea Republic’s Yoon Jiyu (class 3) and Thailand’s Wijittra Jaion (class 4), as well as Alexandra Saint-Pierre from France (class 5) compete in the wheelchair events.
Meanwhile, in the standing categories, Turkey’s Kubra Korkut (class 7) and Hungary’s Alexa Svitacs (class 9) alongside the French duo of Thu Kamkasomphu (class 8) and Lea Ferney (class 11) all compete.
Furthermore, amongst the elite names on duty in Lasko, Fabien Lamirault, Feng Panfeng and Zhao Shuai all struck gold at the recent Montenegro Para Open in Podgorica, as in the women’s singles did Liu Jing and Mao Jingdian.
In-form players, there are more seeking to repeat their Podgorica success. In the men’s singles Slovakia’s Boris Travincek (class 4), China’s Liu Fu (class 5), Chile’s Ignacio Torres (class 6) and Montenegro’s Filip Radowski (class 10), as well as Japan’s Katsuyoshi Yagi (class 7) and Koyo Iwabushi (class 9), compete in Slovenia.
Likewise, winners in Montenegro, Croatia’s Andela Muzinic (class 3), as well as the Chinese trio comprising Zhang Bian (class 5), Xiong Guiyan (class 9) and Zhao Xiaojing (class 10) ply their skills.
Play commences with the men’s singles and women’s singles events.
Play commences with the men’s singles and women’s singles events.