Colin Judge came into the Para Table Tennis China Open hoping to improve on his current rank of world number 17 but he was handed a very tough draw and, ultimately, that proved his undoing as he exited the singles competition at the group stage.
It was a familiar foe for Colin in his first match of the tournament as he faced Zhai Xang, a player that had denied Colin an opportunity to play for a medal at the world championships last month. Unfortunately, for Colin though it was to be a repeat of that result as the Chinese, World no. 6, triumphed in convincing fashion winning 3-0.
It was not to get any better for Colin in his 2nd match as he suffered a similar defeat to Kim from Korea in his 2nd game as he again lost out 3-0 to end his hopes of progressing any further in the singles competition.
Despite the disappointment in defeat Colin will be aware that the vital ranking points difference between #7 and #20 in the world rankings is so small that a few wins between now and the March 31st deadline can secure him a place in the top 13 who will all qualify for Tokyo 2020.
Colin’s competition has not yet come to an end though as he will now compete in the teams competition when he joins his Polish partner, Napelka at the start of the team event on Saturday.