Indore: Eighth seeded Hsin-Yang Li defeated sixth seed Chi-Chien Lai 4-3 in what was a Chinese Taipei showdown in the Boy’s final, while it was Hong Kong’s Wai Yam Minnie Soo who beat Yuko Kato of Japan to win the Girl’s final in the 2016 ITTF World Junior Circuit Finals at the Abhay Prashal here on Saturday.
The winners took home $3,800 each for their wonderful efforts, spanning three days.
In the Lai-Li final, the tall sixth seed seemed to have a definite edge over compatriot Li but none could question the authority with which the latter dominated the final. In fact, his senior teammate was enterprising all right but Li summoning all his weapons from the arsenal to outplay Lai.
Such was the influence Li had over Lai and it showed when the former unleashed some astonishing strokes. Gaining in confidence and returning with good pace, mixing them with some interesting rallies, despite being down 1-3 up. But Li played truly well in the last three to pick himself up to leave Lai poorer by $1,700, the runner-up prize purse.
Minnie Soo, justifying her top seeding, attacked right from the word go and put her Japanese rival Kato in all sorts of troubles. Visibly upset, the fifth seed tried her best to find a foothold in the final and even managed to pull back when she stopped Minnie Soo in the third game. But then, there were fewer winners in that game as her rival netted quite frequently for easy points.
However, Minnie Soo hit the groove soon after and dominated once again. Even a forced timeout at 6-8 did not help the Japanese much. The Hong Kong player finished off the game soon and back at the table to drive the final nail with 8-1 in the fifth game. Luckily, Kato added three more points, two through service and one when Minnie Soo netted an easy return. But the top seed ended Kato’s ordeal quickly to take home the top prize.
Earlier in the first semifinals, Lai taught a few lessons to his Romanian rival Alexandru Manole, seeded No. 5, how to play percentage game. The process started as early as in the first game which saw several deuces and four game points being wasted by the Romanian while the Taipei boy converted his fifth to go 1-0 up. Yet, he lost the next two games as Manole launched himself nicely into the match to put his nose ahead. However, Lai proved too good in crunch situations, reeling off winners and win the next three straight games for the 4-2 victory.
But it was his compatriot and eighth seeded Hsin-Yang Li who looked more confident in tackling the third seed Japanese Koyo Kanamitsu with his excellent service variations and all-round game. After winning the extended first game, the Taipei boy went about using the flanks well and sending in scorchers. Obviously perturbed, the Japanese tried to slow down the game and even managed to win the third. But that was all he could do in the face of a more clinical approach by his Taipei opponent to seal a place in the final.
Top-seeded girl’s player Wai Yam Minnie Soo accounted for fourth seed Romanian, Andreea Dragoman, rather easily, except that she was extended in the last three games. Otherwise, it was more of a one-sided semifinal. In the second, fifth seed Yuko Kato kept the Japanese flag flying by disposing of seventh-seeded Sih-Han Fang from Taipei. No doubt, the latter waged a losing battle and took two games of her Japanese rival in the bargain.
Results (Stage 2):
Junior Boys: Final: Hsin Yang Li bt Chi- Chen Lai (both Taipei) 11-7, 9-11, 2-11, 10-12, 11-6, 13-11, 11-8; Semifinals: Chi-Chien Lai (TPE) bt Alexandru Manole (ROU) 16-14, 8-11, 11-13, 11-4, 12-10, 11-7, Hsin-Yang Li (TPE) bt Koyo Kanamitsu (JPN) 12-10,11-9, 5-11, 11-8, 11-8.
Junior Girls: Final: Wai Yam Minnie Soo (HKG) bt Yuko Kato (JPN) 11-8, 11-8, 5-11, 11-8, 11-4; Semifinals: Wai Yam Minnie Soo (HKG) bt Andreea Dragoman (ROU) 11-7, 13-11, 13-11, 13-11,
Yuko Kato (JPN) bt Sih-Han Fang (TPE) 5-11, 11-6, 11-4, 5-11, 11-5, 11-9.
