MADRID, 1 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish paddlers María Xiao and Álvaro Robles have won their second international title as a couple in the Otocec tournament (Slovenia), and are confirmed as contenders for everything in the mixed doubles modality at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
After the trophy won in Lima, the Spanish duo had an excellent performance in the Slovenian competition, where they participated as number one seeds.
In the first round, Xiao and Robles won against the Slovaks Tatiana Kukulkova and Jakub Zelinka (3-1), and in the quarterfinals they came back against the South Korean duo Lee-Park (3-2). In the semifinals, they beat the Singaporeans Pang-Wong (3-1), advancing to the final, where they beat the Luxembourg couple Ni-Mladenovic with a resounding 3-0.
María Xiao, in addition to her success in doubles, reached the quarterfinals with three hard-fought victories. She beat the Czech Zdena Blaskova (3-2) in the first round and the German Franziska Schreiner in the second (3-2), and also won the Korean Yoo Siwoo in the round of 16 (3-2). Just before the mixed doubles final, Xiao lost to Korea’s Lee Eunhye 0-3 in the quarterfinals.
For his part, Álvaro Robles from Huelva lost in the first round against the Frenchman Can Akkuzu by 0-3.