The fourth day of competition at the PPP World Championships in Lasko showed just how evenly matched the field is this year. This time, only two players, Melanie Jeska and Thorsten Flues (both GER), managed to qualify for the semi-finals on the final day in all three competitions – singles, doubles and mixed. Last year, six players managed to do so. Both are competing in the strongest competition category, and as they do not play mixed together, a maximum of one person can become a triple title winner on Saturday. If Thorsten Flues succeeds, it would be a repeat of his performances in Berlin 2021 and Wels 2023, while Melanie Jeska is competing at a world championship for the first time.
17 other players (last year 14) are still in two of three possible semi-finals. In the main class, there are seven of them: Hamid Ezzat-Ahmadi and Ilya Rozenblat (USA), women’s world champion Rie Koyama (JPN) and the four Germans Silke Kind, Norbert Hase, Heiko Probst and Holger Teppe.
In the lower competition classes 2 and 3, these ten players still have the chance of double title honours: Daniela Beurer and Tina Fischer (both SUI), Thomas Lunde (DEN), Danica Strmsek (SLV), Gillian Lacey-Solymar (ENG), Ulrike Keiper, Anett Otto, Olaf Dietrich, Chris Nierzwicki and Thorsten Wottrich (all GER).
Another 56 players reached the semi final in one category and have still the chance to become World Champion. Start of the semi finals is at 9 am on Saturday, the finals will start at 1.20 pm, and the tournament will end with the award ceremony at 3.20 pm in hall Tri Lilije in Lasko.