June 16, 2010
Challengers Face Strong Home Opposition in Taiyuan
 Fan Shengpeng seeking to repeat Chengdu Junior Boys'; Team success Photo By: ITTF Asia / Pacific Office |
Courtesy of ITTF Play starts on Wednesday 16th June and concludes on Sunday June 20, 2010. |
Zheng Peifing, who remained unbeaten in the Junior Boys’ Team event at the recent ITTF Junior Circuit tournament in Chengdu and then proceeded to win the Junior Boys’ Singles competition, heads the China `A’ team.
He lines up alongside Fan Shengpeng, the player with whom he won the Junior Boys’ Team title in Chengdu and Zhang Yuntao.
Major Threat
They will be a major threat to the aspirations of Chinese Taipei, the no.1 seeds.
Winner of the Junior Boys’ Singles title at the Tunisia Junior and Cadet Open in early May, 16 year old Hung Tzu-Hsiang leads the Chinese Taipei Challenge lining up alongside colleague, 15 year old Lee Chia-Sheng, a Boys’ Singles semi-finalist in Tunisia, losing at the penultimate stage to Hong Kong’s Chiu Chung-Hei.
Same Group as Austria
A tough task awaits the top seeds and it is the same scenario for the second seeds.
Austria `A’, represented by Jan Peter Schanbacher and Christian Wolf, have been drawn in the same group as China `A’; the two Austrians will have to be at the very peak of performance if they are going to topple the host nation duo.
The best for Schanbacher on the ITTF Junior Circuit in 2010 is a second round exit in Italy; whilst for Wolf he has yet to progress beyond the opening round; he suffered first round exits in both Germany and Austria.
Formidable Adversaries
Similarly, in the Junior Girls’ Team event China presents formidable opposition.
Zhao Yan, who in Chengdu joined forces with Zou Yang and Sheng Dandan to win gold in the Junior Girls’ Team event, partners Zhang Qiang and Yi Fangxian in the China `A’ team.
Zhang Qiang and Yi Fangxian were members of the Chinese silver medal winning team in Chengdu.
Top Seeds Need Top Form
Similarly with Liu Ying, Li Yutong, Lu Tingting and Yuan Wei in action, China `B’, seeded no.2, poses a major threat.
Certainly top seeds Japan `A’ with Misaki Morizono and Ayuka Tanioka in will need to be at their best if they are to withstand the host nation challenge.
Strong Teams
Meanwhile, in the cadet team events, the host nation field strong teams.
Kong Lingxuan, the winner of the Cadet Boys’ Singles title in Chengdu lines up alongside Xu Chenhao, the man he beat in the final and Cai Wei, the young man Xu Chenhao defeated in the semi-finals!
Chengdu Champion
It is a similar situation in the Cadet Girls’ Team event; in fact it is even more pronounced!
Zhu Yuling, the winner of the Junior Girls’ Singles crown in Chengdu lines up alongside Liu Xi and Li Yanjin.
The trio won the Cadet Girls’ Team title in Chengdu.
Top Seeds
Top seeds in the Cadet Boys’ Team event are Hong Kong `A’, with Daryl Hung and Li Hon Ming in action; whilst in the Cadet Girls’ Team competition, Huang Hsin and Chin Hsiao-Chin, occupy the no.1 seeded position.
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