Hurd completes stunning debut with double gold in Spain
Teenager Lowri Hurd made it an international debut to remember by taking gold with Max Flint in the mixed doubles class 20 and gold with her Spanish partner Victoria Sorribes Barba in the women’s doubles class 20 to add to the bronze she won in the women’s class 9-10 singles at the ITTF World Para Future Costa Brava in Spain.
Women’s class 20
Lowri Hurd teamed up with 15-year-old Victoria Sorribes Barba from Spain who was also making her international debut at this tournament. Their first match was against the European silver medallists Alexa Szvitacs and Zsofia Arloy from Hungary and after losing a tight second set 17-15 they found themselves 2-0 down. Undeterred they fought back to level at 2-2 and took the deciding set 11-8 for a remarkable 3-2 win.
A 3-0 win against Aruzhan Giniyatova and Altynay Yerzhankyzy from Kazakhstan secured their place in the semi-finals as group winners, and they lost only six points in defeating the second Kazakhstan pair Raushan Orynbayeva and Balziya Tash 3-0 to reach the final and a rematch with Szvitacs and Arloy.
Hurd and Sorribes Barba started well, taking the first set 11-5 and although Szvitacs and Arloy took the second 11-8 to level the match the young British/Spanish pair took the third 11-8 and secured the gold 11-8 in the fourth.
Mixed class 20
Max Flint and Lowri Hurd began with a 3-0 win against Jacob Boulay and Thulir Hector from Canada and after edging a tight first set against Ren Hongshuo and Fan Yiwen 14-12 they went on to beat the Chinese pair 3-0. Flint and Hurd recovered from dropping the first set to beat top seeds Marat Surtubayev and Altynay Yerzhankyzy from Kazakhstan 3-1 and came back from 1-0 down again in their final round-robin match to beat Hu Runtao and Huo Xinran, the number one pair from China, 3-1 and take the gold.
“It was fun playing doubles with Max and Victoria,” said 18-year-old Grantham College student Hurd, “and I felt that I played my game well. It was an amazing feeling to beat the European silver medallists twice and the partnership with Victoria gelled very quickly.
“Max and I played very well for our first time together and we clicked very well. Our games worked well together, and it was a nice feeling to end on a gold with a GB teammate. It’s great to get two gold medals at my first tournament and something I did not expect. It’s just super nice to really get stuck in to competing in the Para world.”
“It was good playing with Lowri,” said 21-year-old Flint from Guildford. “Going in with no expectations as it was our first time playing together - focusing on playing free and not worrying too much about the outcome. Playing against China was a really good experience as I haven’t been to a tournament where they have been playing before and I enjoyed playing their style. Winning gold with Lowri was a shock to be honest as we were unseeded, but I was proud that we managed to keep our cool in the right moments.”
Men’s class 18
Max Flint and Bailey Page fought back from 2-0 down to level at 2-2 against Hu Runtao and Cheng Xuanxi from China and took the deciding set 11-6 for a 3-2 win. They led 2-0 against Fausto Barrientos and Eithan Skliarsky before the pair from Argentina came back to win 3-2 but Flint and Page secured second place in the group and a place in the knockout stages with a comfortable 3-0 win against Santiago Francisco Pereira Monteiro and Francisco Malheiro from Portugal.
They had their chances to win the first set of their quarterfinal against Talgat Erekeyev and Marat Surtubayev, but the Kazakhstan pair eventually took it 14-12 and won the second 11-5 to lead 2-0. To their credit Flint and Page fought back to take the third 11-5 and the fourth 11-7 but Erekeyev and Surtubayev used their greater experience to take the deciding set 11-6 for a 3-2 win.
“It was a good learning curve for us,” said Flint, “but tough to miss out on a bronze losing 3-2 in the quarterfinals.”
Men’s class 8
Class 1 Nathan Drayner and class 5 Thomas Hepburn had a tough opening match against the European silver medallists Florian Merrien and Emeric Martin, and the very experienced French pair were 3-0 winners. Drayner and Hepburn took a tight first set against Peter Isherwood and Hakon Atli Bjarkason 12-10, but the Canadian/Icelandic combination took the next three sets for a 3-1 win.