06/09/2012        GAC GROUP 2012 ITTF World Tour, Japan Open

Korea’s Jung Young Sik and the host nation’s Kasumi Ishikawa won the respective Under 21 Men’s and Under 21 Women’s Singles titles at the GAC GROUP 2012 ITTF World Tour Japan Open in Kobe on the evening of Saturday 9th June.

Jung Young Sik, the no.2 seed, having overcome Japanese qualifier Asuka Machi in the semi-finals earlier in the day (11-6, 11-6, 3-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-3) continued his form to beat a second player from the home country in the final.

Not only did he continue his good form, he continued his habit of winning by the narrowest of margins in the seventh game.

He defeated Jin Ueda, the no.5 seed (11-6, 13-15, 13-11, 11-7, 8-11, 8-11, 12-10).

Seventh Seven Game Duel
It was the seventh seventh game duel in a period of three days for Jung Young Sik.

In the group stage of the Men’s Singles event he had lost in seven games to Japan’s Ryusuke Karube; all rest he won!

Brave Effort
Most certainly it was a brave effort from Jin Ueda, who saved one match point in the seventh game before succumbing to what seems to be the inevitable when facing Jung Young Sik in a seventh game in Kobe!

Earlier, Jin Ueda had upset the pecking order; in the penultimate round he overcame Singapore’s Chen Feng, the no.4 seed (11-5, 11-5, 10-12, 11-3, 11-3).

Final Hurdle
Meanwhile, at the final hurdle, Kasumi Ishikawa accounted for Hong Kong’s Lee Ho Ching (11-4, 11-4, 11-2, 11-9), having one round earlier beaten Chinese Taipei’s Chen Szu-Yu, the no.5 seed (14-12, 11-6, 11-7, 11-8).

Satisfaction
Defeat for Lee Ho Ching in the final but there was a degree of satisfaction in having reached the gold medal contest.

At the semi-final stage she had beaten Japan’s Marina Matsuzawa (5-11, 11-4, 11-6, 9-11, 12-10, 11-7), the player against whom just over two weeks earlier she had suffered a first round Under 21 Women’s Singles defeat at the GAC GROUP 2012 ITTF World Tour China Open.

Seventh Final
In Kobe, it was for Kasumi Ishikawa her seventh appearance in an Under 21 Women’s Singles final on the GAC GROUP 2012 ITTF World Tour and it was her sixth victory; the only defeat having been in China when losing to DPR Korea’s Ri Myong Sun in the final.

Otherwise it had been a case of whatever she touched turned to gold. Earlier in the year she had won in Slovenia, Qatar, Spain, Chile and Korea.

Second Silver
Conversely, for Lee Ho Ching, it was her second appearance in a GAC GROUP 2012 ITTF World Tour Under 21 Women’s Singles final; at the first tournament of the year in Hungary she had been beaten in the final by Chinese Taiei’s Cheng I-Ching.

Second Gold
Two finals for Lee Ho Ching and for Jung Young Sik it was his second Under 21 Men’s Singles final of the year but his second victory.

In Hungary, in the first GAC GROUP 2012 ITTF World Tour tournament of the year, he had emerged successful beating Denmark’s Jonathan Groth in the final.

Lean Times
However, since that victory, times have been difficult for the 20 year old Korean.

In Slovenia he was beaten in the quarter-finals by Simon Gauzy of France and then in Kuwait by the same player in round two; in Qatar he also departed in round two, losing to Sweden’s Mattias Karlsson whilst in Korea, Japan’s Asuka Machi ended progress in the opening round.

Revenge
Defeat against Asuka Machi but in Kobe he gained revenge in the semi-finals and ended the day both the champion and surely the most tired player of all.

The Under 21 Men’s Singles title to his credit and a quarter-final Men’s Singles finish; for Jung Young Sik it was back to form, a tournament to remember, and a number to remember seven!