Saturday, August 8, 2009
8:54 PM
ITTF Hong Kong Junior Open - Wrong Move to Put Isabelle in 3rd Singles
The Girls' Combine Team of Li Siyun Isabelle, Thailand’s Suthasini Sawettabut and Egypt’s Dina Meshref was defeated by Hong Kong 'A' by 3 matches to 1. It was obviously a wrong move by the coach to put the best player Isabelle in the 3rd Singles Match, indirectly causing the whole team defeat. The Thailand lady gave the team a good start by recording a 3-2 win over the stronger Lee Ho Ching. Suthasini Sawettabut was 2-0 behind before she increased her attack and turn the table around. Dina Meshref lost 2 points for the team, faltering against Guan Meng Yuan and Lee Ho Ching in the 2nd and 4th match. Isabelle lost the 3rd match to Ng Wing Nan. It was a pity for Isabelle as she had defeated her one month earlier in the Asian Youth Games. Although letting Isabelle play 2 singles matches may not definitely secure victory for the team, at the least, the team will have higher chance of creating an upset. The combine team had to settle for a Bronze.

On the other hand, Pang Xue Jie's medal hopes crashed as he and his partner Matsuda Naoki lost to Chinese Chen Xi/Zhou Yu. They lost in straight games, 11-9,11-7,11-7. The Chinese teenagers were dominant in all events. They are the Champions for the Boys' and Girls' Team Event. They are also title favourites for other events. Chen Xi, who upset Top Seed and World Junior Champion Chen Chien-An is further joined by Feng Ji and Zhou Yu in the Semi Finals of the Boys' Singles event. They occupy 3 out of 4 places in the Semi Finals. Their medal hopes were also kept alive in other events, with Luo Yue successfully negotiating the Quarter Finals of the Girls' Singles Event, Chen Xi/Zhou Yu in the Boys' Doubles and Luo Yue/Xiong Xinyun in the Girls' Doubles.




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