Evgeni Panev and Gabriela Stoeva were eliminated from the mixed doubles competition at the badminton tournament from the “World Tour Super 500” series in the Japanese city of Kumamoto. The event has a prize fund of 500,000 dollars.
The Bulgarian duo lost to Hong Kong representatives Yu Zhizhuwei Jerry and Tse Ying Suet 7:21, 13:21.
Two more matches featuring Bulgarian players are scheduled for the following day. Sisters Stefani and Gabriela Stoeva, seeded No. 7, will face South Koreans Kim Yu-jung and Lee Yu-lim. Kaloyana Nalbantova, meanwhile, will compete in the singles tournament against Canada’s Michelle Li.
Meanwhile, four Bulgarian national team players will take part in the International Challenge tournament in Dublin, Ireland, which begins tomorrow.
Bulgaria will be represented by Gergana Pavlova, Hristomira Popovska, Dimitar Yanakiyev and Iliyan Stoynov.
Yanakiyev and Stoynov will begin their participation in the singles qualifiers, and will also compete together in the men’s doubles.
In the women’s main draw, Gergana Pavlova’s first opponent will be Germany’s Miranda Wilson. Hristomira Popovska, meanwhile, will face No. 2 seed Yvonne Li, also from Germany.