Singapore, Jan. 24 -- On court, their ages added up to that of an octogenarian. But it was veterans Feng Tianwei and Li Jiao - 33 and 47 respectively - who bravely led the battle for Olympic berths yesterday, as Singapore and the Netherlands faced off at the World Team Qualification Tournament in Gondomar, Portugal.
In a thrilling battle that went down to the wire, the third-seeded Singapore women eventually edged out the Dutch 3-2 in the round-of-16 contest to earn their ticket to Tokyo.
Nine spots were up for grabs, with teams who made the quarter-finals earning an automatic berth to the Tokyo Games. The losing teams in the last 16 will compete in a knockout format for the final spot.
Countries that have earned a team berth will als...