Eala enters Asian Games QF

(UPDATE) ALEX Eala advanced to the quarterfinals of the Asian Games women's single tennis after dispatching Sarah Khan 6-0, 6-0 in the round of 16 in Hangzhou, China on Monday.

The Filipino tennis sensation unleashed a strong service and breaking game to sweep the Pakistani.

«It was a great opening match. A lot of positive takeaways. I went in with a right game plan. It was a good win for my overall confidence coming into the next round,» said Eala.

Eala, who got a bye in the round of 32, scored five aces and broke Khan's service six times.

Filipino-Japanese judoka Kiyomi Watanabe progressed to quarterfinals after beating Vietnamese Nguyen Ngoc Diem Phuong at the XSL Gymnasium.

Kiyomi, who competed in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, won via ippon in the round of 16 match.

Watanabe faces Esmigul Kuyulova in the quarterfinals later Monday.

In swimming, Filipino-Canadian Kayla Sanchez entered the women's 50m backstroke final.

Sanchez, who represented Canada and seized a bronze medal in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, clocked 28.86 seconds at the HOC Aquatics Sports Arena to finish second in Heat 2.

The 22-year-old placed fifth overall in the 2-heat, 13-swimmer field where the top eight made it to the medal round slated at 7:36 p.m.

Sanchez made her Philippine swimming debut in the Asiad on Sunday evening, teaming up with Tiea Salvino, Xiandi Chua, and Jasmine Alkhaldi in the women's 4x100m freestyle relay where they posted a new national record of 3:44.31.

That clocking was not enough for a podium finish, though, as they finished in fifth place.