June 12, 2009
Surprises Galore in Japan Open Under 21 Events
 Kenji Matsudaira suffered an earlier than anticipated exit in the Under 21 Men's Singles event. Photo By: Takuya Mawatari |
Courtesy of ITTF In the male event, top seed Singapore’s Ma Liang; second seed Japan’s Kenji Matsudaira and fourth seed Korea’s Jeong Sang Eun all lost to lower ranked opposition. Meanwhile, in the counterpart female event there were surprise defeats Romania’s Daniela Dodean and Elizabeta Samara the no.2 and no.3 seeds respectively, as there was for Korea’s Park Young Sook, the no.4 seed. |
Only Survivors of Elite
The only members of the elite not to suffer were Japan’s Hidetoshi Oya, who progressed safely to the final of the Under 21 Men’s Singles event and Singapore’s Yu Meng Yu.
She booked her place in the final of the Under 21 Women’s Singles competition.
Seeds Depart
Hidetoshi Oya recorded a semi-final victory over Korea’s Lee Sang Su who at the quarter-final stage had ousted Kenji Matsudaira. In the final, Hidetoshi Oya meets Lee Sang Su’s compatriot, the un-seeded Jung Young Sik.
He beat top seed, Singapore’s Ma Liang in the opening round before accounting for Japan’s Jin Ueda and Korean national team colleague, Jeong Sang Eun, the no.4 seed, in the semi-finals.
Tale of Woe
Similarly, it was a tale of woe for all but Yu Meng Yu in the Under 21 Women’s Singles event.
Elizabeta Samara was beaten in the opening round by Japan’s backspin artiste, Ayuka Tanioka who then suffered at the hands of compatriot Moemi Terui.
Misako Wakamiya
However, there was no place in the final for Moemi Terui, she was beaten by colleague, Misako Wakamiya who in round two had ended the progress of Daniela Dodean.
Misaka Wakamiya meets Yu Meng Yu in the final, the latter having beaten Japan’s Yuko Fujii in the semi-finals, the player who one round earlier had defeated fourth seed, Korea’s Park Young Sook.
Beauty of Sport
It was surprises galore, most unpredictable but that’s the beauty of sport, the beauty of table tennis.
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