3/5/2007 2007 ITTF WJC Venezuela Junior Open

Jessica Yamada from São Paulo emerged as the most successful player in the individual events at the Venezuelan Junior Open in Valencia on Monday 5th March 2007.

The Brazilian teenager won the Girls’ Singles title and with compatriot Karin Fukushima captured the Girls’ Doubles crown.

On the last day of play she beat top seed, Sweden’s Madeleine Melcher in the semi-finals of the Girls’ Singles event before overcoming the host nation’s Ruaida Ezzeddine in the final.

 3/5/2007 2007 ITTF WJC Venezuela Junior Open

Seventeen year old Trent Carter from Melbourne, a city renowned for sport, won the Boys’ Singles title at the Venezuelan Junior Open on Monday 5th March 2007.

In so doing he became the first ever Australian to win an ITTF World Junior Circuit title.

Furthermore, at no stage of the event was he extended the full distance and on the final day of play in Valencia he was in scintillating form.

 3/5/2007 2007 ITTF WJC Venezuela Junior Open

No family was better represented at the Venezuelan Junior Open in Valencia than the Vila family from the Dominican Republic and on the final day of play, Monday 5th March 2007, they had cause to celebrate.

The reason was that Juan Antonio Vila partnering Emil Santos won the Boys’ Doubles event beating top seeds, Brazil’s Eric Mancini and Humberto Manhani in the semi-finals and the rising Chilean stars Matias Contreras and Felipe Olivares in the final.

 3/4/2007 2007 ITTF WJC Venezuela Junior Open

For more than twenty years he has been right, left and centre of table tennis in Venezuela. Also, there was a time when he spent a considerable time trying to spread the knowledge of the sport to other countries in Latin America.

A well known profile, he is Francisco Seijas, fifty years young from Caracas, Venezuela and a prominent figure at the current ITTF World Junior Circuit event in Valencia.

 3/4/2007 2007 ITTF WJC Venezuela Junior Open

There was a global outcome to proceedings in the quarter-finals of the Boys’ Singles event at the Venezuelan Junior Open in Valencia on Sunday 4th March 2007 with three continents being represented in the final analysis.

From Latin America Brazil’s Humberto Manhani and the Dominican Republic’s Juan Antonio Víla emerged successful, from Europe Paul Lavergne of France booked his penultimate round place, whilst from Oceania Trent Carter emerged unscathed.

 3/4/2007 2007 ITTF WJC Venezuela Junior Open

Seventeen year old Ruaida Ezzeddine was the toast of Venezuela as play drew to a close on Sunday 4th March 2007 at the ITTF World Junior Circuit event in Valencia.

To the delight of the home supporters, she kept her nerve to win a gruelling seven games duel against Livia Mizobuchi to book her place in the semi-finals.

Amid scenes of total pandemonium, she won 5-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-1, 11-13, 11-9, 11-6. having earlier in the day succeeded in her second round match in more comfortable circumstances beating Paraguay’s Lucero Ovelar 10-12, 11-7, 12-10, 11-7, 11-8.

 3/4/2007 2007 ITTF WJC Venezuela Junior Open

Sweden’s Felicia Falck had both rejoiced and suffered in the Girls’ Team event at the Venezuela Junior Open in Valencia on Friday 2nd March 2007. Partnering Madeleine Melcher the duo captured gold but in both the semi-final and final Felicia Falck had let winning positions slip from her grasp.

In contests where the matches were best of five games, she won the first two games against Spain’s Carmen Solichero at the penultimate stage and lost; then in the final she suffered exactly the same fate against Cuba’s Leisy Jimenez. However, in the group stage of the Girls’ Singles event on Saturday 3rd March 2007 she made no mistakes.