TABLE TENNIS : Lomas and Syed close to Olympics

Lisa Lomas moved to the brink of a place in this summer's Olympics with an inspired victory over the Italian No 1, Alessia Arisi, in the European Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Manchester yesterday. The Bedfordshire- based Lomas, the England No 2, extended her unbeaten run to six matches with a fine 21-19 21-10 21-7 win and now looks certain to qualify. In the men's competition the England No 1, Matthew Syed, pulled off one of the best victories of his career last night by beating the 1991 world champion Jorgen Persson and so boosted his hopes of qualifying for Atlanta. But Syed must beat Greece's Ntaniel Tsiokas to qualify, following the Englishman's defeat by French No 3 Damien Eloi on Friday. Tsiokas' surprise five-game victory over Eloi aided Syed's cause in what is a tough group.

Lomas: Six wins on the trot