by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor
None of the immediate chasing trio, who each drops one place, competed in Lignano but, like Maciej Kolodziejczyk, each has a title to their name. Yang Xinyu won in the Czech Republic, Bastien Rembert succeeded on home soil, whilst for Shunsuke Togami emerged victory in Sweden.
Notable progress for Maciej Kolodziejczyk, it is the same for Italy’s Antonino Amato and John Oyebode. Antonino Amato, the runner up in Lignano, advances from no.75 to no.8 (928 points); John Oyebode, a semi-finalist, climbs from no.33 to no.10 (720 points).
Meanwhile, Spain’s Francisco Miguel Ruiz, likewise a semi-finalist in Italy, enters the order of merit at no.15 (528 points); where he joins the Slovak Republic’s Tibor Spanik who reached the last eight in Lignano.
Likewise, there are highly rated positions for the remaining three defeated Lignano quarter-finalists. Germany’s Kay Stumper advances from no.17 to no.12 (672 points); colleague Tobias Hippler climbs from no.23 to no.14 (616 points), whilst Hungary’s Patrik Juhasz moves no.91 to no.22 (384 points).
A new leader on the Boys’ Standings, on the counterpart Girls’ Standings, there is no change. The winner in the Czech Republic and Sweden, in addition to being the runner up in France, Japan’s Maki Shiomi retains her top billing (3,800 points).
Similarly, Azerbaijan’s Ning Jing, the winner in France, retains second spot (1,640 points), with Miyu Nagasaki, like Maki Shiomi from Japan, once again occupying third position (1,470 points).
However, immediately below there are changes. Germany’s Jennie Wolf, the winner in Italy, moves from no.37 to no.4 (1,360 points), Puerto Rico’s Adriana Diaz from no.6 to no.5 (1,295 points), being one place ahead of Romania’s Tania Plaian (1,176 points). The runner up in Lignano, Tania Plaian previously held the no.17 spot.
Similarly, there is notable progress for Serbia’s Izabela Lupulesku and the Czech Republic’s Katerina Cechova; both semi-finalists in Italy. Izabela Lupulesku moves from no.30 to no.10 (720 points), Katerina Cechova from no.51 to no.12 (624 points).
In order to gain a top 16 place and qualify for the end of campaign ITTF World Junior Circuit Finals, a top 12 finish is the realistic goal.
In each of the Boys’ Singles and Girls’ Singles events, no association may be represented by more than two players, the host association is allotted one place; each continent is eligible for at least one representative (Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Latin America, Oceania) but to gain an invitation to the Finals, a player must have competed in two continents.
2017 ITTF World Junior Circuit: Boys’ Standings following Italian Junior and Cadet Open
2017 ITTF World Junior Circuit: Girls’ Standings following Italian Junior and Cadet Open
