Today in Guimarães, Portugal, the European Olympic Singles Qualification Tournament (EOSQ) reached its thrilling conclusion. After five days of action, four qualifications had been awarded, and the final five hung in the balance. As in yesterday's Stage 2 qualifiers, a semifinal victory in today's Stage 3 was sufficient to secure a golden ticket to the Tokyo Olympics. In addition to the two women's and two men's finalists, the two losing men's semifinalists today would battle for the final spot. This final chance for the vanquished fulfilled the total of four women and five men the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) promised the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as tribute. The final two women's spots were claimed by Spain's Maria Xiao of Spain and Yana Noskova of Russia. In today's inaugural semifinal, Noskova bested Polina Trifonova of Bulgaria in six games. "I was two games up, but after 9-9 in the third game, I lost my focus," admitted Noskova. "Everything went so quickly. Trifonova is a very dangerous player." In the battle for the final women's spot, Xiao overcame Barbara Balazova of Slovakia in seven games. "I was not under great stress," claimed Xiao, who found the winning formula at the perfect time after posting a career 0-4 record against Balazova. "I just stayed calm and waited for my moment." Greek defensive legend Panagiotis Gionis (pictured) booked his fifth trip to the five-ring circus with a five-game win. In outmaneuvering the Czech Republic's Pavel Sirucek in today's semifinal, Gionis faced more than the usual physical, tactical and emotional challenges. "It was not a difficult match only because I had to face very good adversary, it was difficult for the reason we are very good friends and teammates for two years now," explained Gionis. "We know each other well. The tension was very big." In the other semifinal, Ovidiu Ionescu of Romania overcame Great Britain’s Paul Drinkhall in seven games. This sent Drinkhall into the last last-chance match with the other non-victorious semifinalist, Pavel Sirucek. With the final ticket to Tokyo on the line, it was the Czech Sirucek who earned redemption with a back-and-forth 4-2 win. "After I had won two opening games, I got scared. It was too easy," explained Sirucek. "At that moment Paul start to play a fantastic game." In fact, every one of these world-class players exhibited a fantastic game, but only nine could proceed directly to Tokyo. For some, it is their first Olympics, while for others, it may be their last. While we cannot predict the career path of each individual competitor, a few features are discernible on the distant horizon. In three months, this weekend's winners will be competing in the pinnacle of sport. In three years, the majority will be vying to do the same in Paris.

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