Kuai Man vs Sofia Polcanova | WS R32 | #EuropeSmash 2026

Speed, arc, trajectory, placement on the table. And just as important, alongside Bernie Such, getting a silver medal, losing to Wang Manyu and Kwai Man. Admirable, even, to get that far. She's already into the second round here. This is a round of 32 battle. Sofia Polkanova's got a bigger midsection, the crossover. Good angle on this one, though. Watch for that inside-out forehand. You should take your time chewing. It's better for your digestive system. Oh, misdirection. Is able to completely mislead with that opening and sets up six game points. Wingspan plus a net. One game point saved, five more to go. And a quiet, for all you care, you could think of it as, yes. Oh, you want to see it come down after all these shots. Kwai Man had to work hard for that point. Sofia refuses to go down here. Covers the elbow, stands up straight for a moment, and gets right back into it with the backhand. She quickly steps up in front of two of her teammates. Well-placed ball. One, oh. Not easy to control. Not against Kwai Man. One, two. But that wasn't easy either, and it didn't stop. Footwork tested, wingspan as well. A lot of people ask. In 2026. Through tough times, and it builds character. Two, five. With the majority of the eight points played this game. And this is not the rally she wants. She was looking for the moment in her head to come back stronger, smarter, for the next point. And she was the same player today as he was in London in the semifinals. Oh, wow. Kwai Man with good hands. More of a free space on the bingo card than it originally appeared. Eight, four. Eight, five. Sophia's father as well, in the early days. Seven, eight. A moment to just sort of breathe, slow down, and remember how you got to eight, four in the first place. Eight, four. That timing is so good, right there. Nine, all. Long serve into the middle. Now she's got game point. Ten, all. Still in it, though. Deuce. Interesting, interesting. Rehearsal there to figure it out again. Kwai Man, down game point. Eleven, all. We're leveled, and she's got momentum. Serves so good. Second game point for the Austrian. Some real trouble for Sophia Polkanova. Not able to cross the line yet. Twelve, thirteen. Is this scenario here. Third game point, Sophia. Thirteen, all. To keep the pressure on. Thirteen, five. Not easy, because Kwai Man. And she wins it on the fourth time of asking. One, low. Knows what to do with that. Oh, the edge of the table here, but the way she recoils and recovers time and time again. Sophia Polkanova pinned on the middle. This is uncomfortable. It's not where you want to be. The elbow attached to the hand holding the racket. One, two. All. Kwai Man of Team China. Three, two. But it's even. Wow. Liu Guozheng, Kim Tak-su. Liu Guozheng would always have a seat on the coaching staff after that. Five. That's usually not the goal. Just to make it uncomfortable is the goal. Six, three. You cast a spell there for a moment. Three, seven. Eight, four. This serve is so good again. The wide forehand. So playing it back on the length of the table can be very safe. Nine, four. Five points in front. Two points away from a two game. Five, nine. Say advantage. Virtually no weaknesses. What are her relative weaknesses that I can exploit? Six, nine. And good bend of the... Oh, this serve. Top side. That ball died. Let's see. But she goes half long. Gets the net to her advantage. Inside is not where she wants to be after that timeout. But this time, the long serve. It's what you'd see on... Only needs the one. And the timeout has been cashed in. And all that comeback from four, nine... Man, Honoka's match is gonna be fascinating. We'll keep you posted on that. No. One. If you're not familiar with... One, oh. Oh, a blitz. Kwaimon moves away. Kwaimon's English isn't half bad. No way. Come on. This is unfair. She blitzes the table. Watch what Sofia does to cover that. Doesn't touch shirt. And then this backhand bend. Three, one. There's no backswing. There's no tell of what's to come. Truly suffocating speed in the in-and-out game. I don't know if I've seen so much in-and-out movement in women's table tennis for an attacker. Tactically, if you can do that, yeah, it's to your advantage. It's worked for China for decades. This is where speed and... Oh, the strawberry chocolate out here. Sofia playing that after saving a lot of shots and a very soft side spinny shot. But here, it's just a tough place to be, Sofia. That's why you see people split step and plant in other sports. Oh, back edge of the table. Polkanova maintaining... That shouldn't keep you up at night. It should motivate you to enjoy. And where's the security in this one? The alarm was not set after all of this back and forth. The forehand side of the table. Shouldn't there be a beep sound or something first? Kwai Mon, a blur, a flash. Jeez, she's turned it up a percentage. You will reap the benefits. Second time, Sofia has recovered a net ball. World Tour winner for a major title. Japan Open 2014 over Jun Mizutani, quite memorably. Still a one-point lead, seven serving six. And for the second time, that wide four. Little four. The lead is very different than getting across the finish line. Oh, ITTK. Very first person to ever say that. One-point lead, Sofia. This right here is crazy. The test. It felt like Sofia had earned herself the point. Kwai Mon, from a tough position, finds a way to put the pressure on. We only saw the last third of this point in replay. That's how long. Then 100-0, so we might get another deuce. And for the third time, Sofia recovers a net ball. And if Sofia gets the serve back, she's been strong in that reverse pendulum. But Kwai Mon does it. She closes the door, 11-9 in the fourth. This was an incredible fight. And there's no doubt about it. While Sofia Polcanova is gonna remember this for a long time, Kwai Mon will not forget it either. Respect to the back-to-back.