by Simon Daish
Earlier on day two of the competition Ning Jing picked up a surprise result in the quarter-finals as the Azerbaijan player registered a six games win over the second seed Miyu Nagasaki (11-7, 8-11, 11-6, 7-11, 11-8, 11-8), before her victory over Wong Chin Yau of Hong Kong (11-4, 9-11, 11-8, 11-4, 11-7) saw Ning Jing move through to the final.
Yet it was Maki Shiomi who was the favourite to secure the Girls’ Singles title after the no.1 seed overcame Isa Cok, Nolwenn Fort, Lisa Lung and Yuko Kato in the top half of the draw. Maki Shiomi headed into the final looking to claim the trophy for the second tournament in a row, having triumphed at the recent 2017 Czech Junior and Cadet Open in Hodonin.
With five places separating the two contestants in the final there was a fair level of expectation to see the higher seeded player Maki Shiomi go on to stamp her authority on the tie, and that is exactly what appeared to be happening at the start of the final.
Japan’s Shiomi not only managed to take the opening two ends but then also maintained her advantage after the following two games had been played out, establishing a three games to one lead.
Ning Jing was under pressure to keep the match alive with another game defeat being enough to hand the title to her opponent, however, the Azerbaijan representative raised her performance and her capture of the next three games left Maki Shiomi stunned as the top seed was beaten in seven ends (4-11, 9-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-7) to give the Junior Girls’ Singles award to Ning Jing.
Follow the action live on the Official ITTF Channel.
