by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor

The full gambit of seven events is offered in the Junior age group category – Boys’ Team, Girls’ Team, Boys’ Singles, Girls’ Singles, Boys’ Doubles, Girls’ Doubles, Mixed Doubles.

In the Cadet section it is very similar; only there is no Mixed Doubles.

It is the Team events which commence matters, Singapore and Vietnam form the leading outfits in the Junior Boys’ Team event, in the counterpart Junior Girls’ Team competition it is Singapore and Thailand.

Similarly, in the Cadet Boys’ Team and Cadet Girls’ Team events, Singapore heads the list; in the former Malaysia is second in line, in the latter it is Vietnam.

Play in the Junior Boys’ Team, Junior Girls’ Team and Cadet Boys’ Team events takes place in two stages, a group phase followed by knock-out; in the Cadet Girls’ Team event five outfits compete on an all-play-all basis.

Meanwhile, as the opening day approaches, the Singaporean Team has been out on the streets promoting the tournament and to their great credit upholding the theme of the recent Liebherr 2017 World Championships.

In Düsseldorf it was “One Game, One World”; in Singapore it was just the same, the sport for all, the unifying force.