'Our' Frederique is doing well:
With just over 6 months to go before the Paralympic Games in Paris, Frederique van Hoof is doing everything she can to qualify for them. This means that many tournaments will be played in the coming period in preparation for the Paralympic qualification tournament in Thailand (May 2024). Together with national coach Lumen Dekker, she traveled to Giza in Egypt this week.
Group matches
In the opening match, Frederique met the Indian player Kerharwani. This was not an insurmountable obstacle and after getting used to the pimple game of her opponent, Frederique managed to win in three games. Her second match was on paper a lot more difficult because she was playing against the number 5 of the world, Juliane Wolf from Germany. Frederique played her best table tennis and eventually managed to win in an exciting 4th game with 12-10. The last group match was played a day later and she only needed one game against the Egyptian player Elsayed to be sure of a place in the next round. Frederique did not settle for one game, but won with 3-1 and became the winner of her group.
Final
Frederique reached the semi-finals where she faced the French Hautire. Frederique had never managed to beat Hautiere before. The first game was still a bit hesitant and was lost 11-9. It seemed to be a tough task again, but Frederique decided differently and then managed to beat this top-10 player 11-4, 11-8 and 11-1.
In the final, Juliane Wolf was her opponent again. And to be fair, this time Wolf played one of her best matches. Frederique herself could not quite match the top level of the previous day, which meant that the final battle was decided in a 3-0 victory for the German.
Lumen Dekker: “Frederique keeps trying to improve her world ranking and she has taken the first step towards this. With this strong performance in Egypt she has certainly left her mark. Ultimately we are working towards the qualification tournament at the end of May where there is still one ticket to win for the Paralympic Games in Paris. The winner of that tournament will receive a starting ticket.”
Next week Frederique travels to Brazil together with Kelly van Zon and Gerald van Grunsven for the next tournament. The coaching is in the hands of Lumen Dekker and Johan Lieftink.
https://tafeltennis.nl/teamnl/frederique-van-hoof-pakt-zilver-in-egypte/
