In places 5-8 of the singles Sgouropoulos at the WTT Feeder of Beirut

First, Sgouropoulos on Wednesday picked up his third World Table Tennis Feeder win against Lebanon’s Mahmoud Helmy and advanced to the quarterfinals. On Wednesday night he made his attempt for the biggest step against a top athlete of the world firm.

In the end, he lost 3-1 sets to the vast experience and many “parchments” Chuan Chi Yuan, but with remarkable performances he achieved his best position in an international tournament in the men’s category.

At the same time, it also fulfilled the purpose of a good collection of points for the world ranking, as entry into the top eight provides 25 points. The four-time European junior champion was accompanied to Lebanon by his father, Nikos, who is a former international table tennis player, so he also helped him with tips in the games.

The quarter-final at “Al Kawthar Secondary School” was a challenge for Sgouropoulos not only for the prospect of qualifying for the top four, but also for the athlete he was facing. Chinese Taipei’s famous Chuan Chi Yuan remains at a very high level at the age of 43 and his enviable career includes, among others, a world title in men’s doubles in 2013, silver and bronze medals in singles at the Asian Games, silver and in a World Team Cup and first in a Pro Tour grand final in 2002.

Sgouropoulos was a clear underdog, but playing with a positive mindset and without stress, he immediately became a threat. At 10-7 in the first set, he accepted the tie, but in overtime he took the lead with very good choices. In the initial surprise from the good serve and quality hitting of the Greek ace, the experienced and always quick Chuan reacted correctly.

He took advantage of his own serve, took control with his attacks and went through his tactics for the final 3-1 set.

In the third set it was Sgouropoulos who gained a small advantage at the beginning, but Tsuan became the “leader” with four consecutive points (12-10, 5-11, 6-11, 6-11).

At noon, in the round of 16, Sgouropoulos faced a strong African athlete, the Egyptian Mahmoud Helmy (No. 212), who earlier in 2024 went to the singles final at the North Africa Regional Championships. Our champion came in strong from the start, found a very good rhythm with his attacks and took the first sets by a margin.

Helmi then brought out his own quality, changed his tactics a bit and, after relatively easily going down to 2-1, took a small lead in the fourth set.

He then reached two match bowls at 10-8, taking the serves as well, but Sgouropoulos found solutions with his characteristic calmness. He attacked first, used his serve as well, as he did many times during the match, and with four straight points he reached the final 3-1 set (11-5, 11-4, 4-11, 12-10).