April 9, 2018 By: Sahr Morris Jr. in Gold Coast, Australia
Samuel Pedlow of Canada challenge with Abubakar Kamara at Coolangatta Beachfront
Sierra Leone and African champion duo, Abubakar Kamara and Patrick Lombi, on Saturday April 7, had to wait for their first Commonwealth Games victory after they succumbed to Scotland pair, Robin Brodzki /Seain Cook in the men’s tournament of the 2018 Commonwealth Games at Australia’s Gold Coast.
The African duo were earlier overpowered on their debut day by Canada’s Samuel Pedlow /Sam Schachter 2-0 (22-20, 21-14) in a matched that lasted for 42 minutes.
Kamara/Lombi looked refreshed and keen for their first victory in the Games when they went on to secure the first sets 21-19, but the Scottish pair Brodzki/Cook rallied from the set down to beat their West African opponent 2-1 (19-21, 21-18, 15-12) in a 58 minutes clash.
With two successive victories, Canada’s Sam Pedlow/Sam Schachter and Scotland’s Robin Brodzki /Seain Cook have secured their spots in the quarterfinals,while Sierra Leone and Sir Lanka will have to battle on Monday April 9 at the Coolangatta Beachfront for a possible two best losers spot available.
According to the competition format and rules, each of the men’s and women’s events includes twelve teams in three pools of four for the first phase. The top two of each pool and the best two of the third-ranked teams advance to the quarterfinals on 10 April, which are followed by semifinals on 11 April and the medals matches on 12 April.