Dubai, United Arab Emirates, May 23 2016 –The UAE’s Salim Al Madhani made it through to the BC1 quarter-finals of the Fazza World Open Boccia Competition – Dubai 2016 following a jam-packed penultimate day of action here at Al Nasr Sports Club.
Al Madhani finished second in Group B behind the pool-phase winner, Portugal’s Antonio Marques, who automatically qualified to the last eight as a result of finishing as one of six group-stage victors.
However, Al Madhani still reached the knockout rounds on account of him being one of the two highest points-scoring runners-up along with Slovakia’s Jakub Nagy.
Al Madhani shall now face Mikhail Gutnik, of Russia, whereas Nagy will meet Hong Kong’s Mei Yee Leung in the top half of the draw for much-prized places in the semis.
Meanwhile, on the opposite side of last-eight shake-up, the aforementioned Marques locks horns with Qi Zhang, of China, and Japanese Hiromi Endo is drawn alongside Zhang’s in-form compatriot Kai Sun.
Portugal holds a very strong hand in the BC2 quarters, where Fernando Ferreira, Cristina Goncalves and Abilio Valente will all be aiming to secure semi berths at the expense of China’s Zhiquang Yan, Russian DmitriiKozmin and Hiu Lam Yeung, of Hong Kong, respectively.
The only BC2 last-eight clash that doesn’t involve a representative from the Iberian Peninsula features Japan’s Fumiko Ebisawa and the Slovakian Robert Mezik.
Russia are guaranteed a semi-finalist at the very least in the BC3 category as AleksandrLegostaev and Maxim Vasiliev have in drawn against each other first up on the fifth and final day in Oud Metha.
The Russians are thus assured of a shot at the bronze medal as the eventual winner of that encounter will tackle either the Belgian Pieter Cilissen or Daiki Kosaka, of Japan, for a spot in the climactic showdown.
Cilissen’s fellow countryman Kenneth Verwimpfaces an all-Asian route as he plots a path through to the final. South Korea’s Jong Ho Kwon is his quarter-final opponent and whoever ultimately emerges triumphant from that tie will advance to the semis against either Yuen Kei Ho, of Hong Kong, or Japan’s Keisuke Kawamoto.
There are two Hong Kong vs Slovakia quarter-finals in the BC4 classification, with Samuel Andrejcik and Michaela Balcova or Kwan Hang Wong and Yuk Wing Leung on a collision course in the semis if they can each get past their respective adversaries.
China is also well represented in the remaining eight-strong BC4 field and they’ll have a certified finalist if Ximei Lin and Yuansen Zheng can get past Hong Kong’s Wai Yan Vivian Lau and Russian Ivan Frolov.
This tournament is being held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council (DSC), organised and supervised by the Dubai Club for the Disabled with the support of strategic partners the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Heritage Center (HHC) and in collaboration with the Boccia International Sports Federation (BISFed), the General Authority for Youth and Sports Welfare (GAYSW), the DSC and the UAE Paralympic Committee.

Day Four Results:

BC1:Group A: Mei Yee Leung (Hong Kong) 11-0 Mohammad Al Mutairi (Kuwait). Group B: Antonio Marques (Portugal) 15-0 Noora Mohamed H Al Amri (Bahrain). Group C: Kai Sun (China) 17-0 Fahad Al Babtain (Kuwait). Group D:LenkaDurdinova (Slovakia) 3-2Ayumi Kinjo (Japan), Mikhail Gutnik (Russia) 13-0LenkaDurdinova (Slovakia). Group E:Mohammed Chyad (Iraq) 13-0 Ayman Rajeh A K Al Heddi (Bahrain), Qi Zhang (China) 9-0 Ekaterina Ezhova (Russia), Qi Zhang (China) 9-0 Mohammed Chyed (Iraq), Ekaterina Ezhova (Russia) 4-2 Ayman Rajeh A K Al Heddi (Bahrain).Group F: Hiromi Endo (Japan) 3-3Chih-Hao Lin (Chinese Taipei) (Endo won the tie-break), Jakub Nagy (Slovakia) 5-0 Kinga Koza (Poland).

BC2: Group A: Fumiko Ebisawa (Japan) 12-0 Husain Jaafar M Omran (Bahrain), Zhiquang Yan (China) 7-2 Fumiko Ebisawa (Japan). Group B:Murtadha Al Saedi (Iraq) 2-2 Sayed Ali M Al Wedaei (Bahrain) (Al Saedi won the tie-break), Robert Mezik (Slovakia) 12-0Murtadha Al Saedi (Iraq). Group C:Yuki Umemura (Japan) 10-1 Khalid Al Marashda (UAE), Abilio Valente (Portugal) 10-0 Yuki Umemura (Japan). Group D:DmitriiKozmin (Russia) 5-1Shun Sato (Japan), Kai Zhong (China) 5-4DmitriiKozmin (Russia). Group E: John Loung (Hong Kong) 6-1 Chun-Hung Wang (Chinese Taipei), Cristina Goncalves (Portugal) 7-2 John Loung (Hong Kong). Group F: Tomas Kral (Slovakia) 13-1 Sultan Al Ketbi (UAE), Hiu Lam Yeung (Hong Kong) 13-0 Tomas Kral (Slovakia). Group G:  Hoi Ying Karen Kwok (Hong Kong) 13-1Hamdah Al Mansoori (UAE), Fernando Ferreira (Portugal) 12-0 Lung-Ai Chen (Chinese Taipei), Fernando Ferreira (Portugal) 8-0 Hoi Ying Karen Kwok (Hong Kong), Lung-Ai Chen (Chinese Taipei) 16-0 Hamdah Al Mansoori (UAE).

BC3:Group A: Pieter Cilissen (Belgium) 13-0 Howard Cohen (USA). Group B: Yuen Hi Ho (Hong Kong) 8-0Charles Fleisch (USA).Group C: ChristofferHaghahl(Sweden) 1-3 Damian Iskrzycki (Poland). Group D: Alexander Legostaev (Russia) 8-1Kaede Matsunaga (Japan). Group E: Maxim Vasiliev (Russia) 5-0 Ling Yan Tsang (Hong Kong). Group F: Kenneth Verwimp (Belgium) 6-2 Tait Jenkins (Australia). Group G: Julie Lambrechts (Belgium) 1-12 Daiki Kosaka (Japan).

BC4: Group A: Ahmed Al Jaziri (UAE) 1-10 Bastian Keller (Germany), Yuk Wing Leung (Hong Kong) 13-0Ahmed Al Jaziri (UAE). Group B: Raisa Al Falasi (UAE) 0-11 Michaela Balcova (Slovakia), Yuansen Zheng (China) 16-0 Raisa Al Falasi (UAE). Group C:Sergey Safin (Russia) 6-2 Ayesha Al Mehairi (UAE), Wai Yan Vivian Lau (Hong Kong) 9-1 Sergey Safin (Russia). Group D:AyumiNisawa (Japan) 6-0Tahani Ismael (Kuwait), Samuel Andrejcik (Slovakia) 7-2AyumiNisawa (Japan). Group E: Kwang Hang Wong (Hong Kong) 9-1Ihab Al Hayhom (Iraq), Robert Durkovic (Slovakia) 3-3 Kwan Hang Wong (Hong Kong) (Wong won the tie-break). Group F: Boris Nicolai (Germany) 2-7Seokbeop Won (South Korea), Ximei Lin (China) 13-0 Boris Nicolai (Germany). Group G:KintaroFujji (Japan) 11-0 Amani Ismail (Kuwait), Ivan Frolov (Russia) 9-1KintaroFujii (Japan).

Day Five Schedule:

BC1 Quarter-Finals: Mei Yee Leung (Hong Kong) vs Jakub Nagy (Slovakia), Mikhail Gutnik (Russia) vs Salim Al Madhani (UAE), Antonio Marques (Portugal) vs Qi Zhang (China), Kai Sun (China) vs Hiromi Endo (Japan).

BC2 Quarter-Finals: Zhiquang Yan (China) vs Fernando Ferreira (Portugal), DmitriiKozmin (Russia) vs Cristina Goncalves (Portugal), Robert Mezik (Slovakia) vs Fumiko Ebisawa (Japan), Abilio Valente (Portugal) vs Hiu Lam Yeung (Hong Kong).

BC3 Quarter-Finals:Peter Cilissen (Belgium) vs Daiki Kosaka (Japan), AleksandrLegostaev (Russia) vs Maxim Vasiliev (Russia), Yuen Kei Ho (Hong Kong) vs Keisuke Kawamoto (Japan), Jong Ho Kwon (South Korea) vs Kenneth Verwimp (Belgium).

BC4 Quarter-Finals: Yuk Wing Leung (Hong Kong) vs Michaela Balcova (Slovakia), Samuel Andrejcik (Slovakia) vs Kwan Hang Wong (Hong Kong), Yuansen Zheng (China) vs Ivan Frolov (Russia), Wai Yan Vivian Lau (Hong Kong) vs Ximei Lin (China).