by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor
India’s Prapti Sen and Manushree Patil, alongside Chinese Taipei’s Chen Ci-Xuan upset the order of merit.
All three remained unbeaten and thus secured main draw places in an event where players finishing in first and second positions in each of the six groups advanced to the knock-out rounds.
Notably Prapti Sen beat Chinese Taipei’s Chen Tung-Chuan, the no.2 seed (11-7, 11-8, 11-6); Manushree Patil overcame colleague Diya Parang Chitale, the no.5 seed (7-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-7). Chen Ci-Xuan accounted for India’s Priyanka Pareek (11-8, 12-14, 11-2, 12-10).
It was to prove the only defeat for Diya Parang Chitale but for Chen Tung-Chuan and Priyanka Pareek it was not the situation; both concluded the day in third place in their respective groups. Chen Tung-Chuan also suffered defeat at the hands of India’s Yashini Sivansankar (11-2, 11-5, 4-11, 11-9); likewise Priyanka Pareek was beaten by colleague Swastika Ghosh (13-11, 6-11, 11-9, 11-6). Yashini Sivasanskar and Swastika Ghosh duly completed matters in second place.
Surprises and as the day concluded, there were surprises in both the Junior Boys’ Doubles and Junior Girls’ Doubles events, proceedings advancing towards the penultimate round.
In the Junior Boys’ Doubles, Qatar’s Mohammed Abdulwahhab and Nawaf Al-Malki, the no.2 seeds, experienced an opening round defeat at the hands of Chinese Taipei’s Li Hsin-Yu and Wang Yi-Fan (8-11, 11-6, 11-5, 8-11, 11-5). Likewise, in the same round it was defeat for the United Arab Emirates duo formed by Salah Al-Balooshi and Abdulla Albalooshi, the no.4 seeds. They lost to the combination formed by Egypt’s Omar Allam and Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yen-Chun (9-11, 8-11, 11-3, 11-4, 11-7).
Two surprise first round exits, one round later at the quarter-final stage there was one more; Egypt’s Youssef Abdel-Aziz and Ahmed Meshref, the top seeds, experienced defeat when facing India’s Anukram Jain and Snehit Suravajjul (13-11, 11-6, 12-10).
Notably, of the top four Junior Boys’ Doubles seeds, the only combination to advance to the semi-finals is that of India’s Manush Utpalbhai Shah and Parth Virmani, the no.3 seeds. At the semi-final stage they face Li Hsin-Yu and Wang Yi-Fan; in the opposite half of the draw Anukram Jain and Snehit Suravajjul oppose Chinese Taipei’s Hsu Po-Hsuan and Peng Chih, the quarter-final victors in opposition to Omar Allam and Lin Yen-Chun (11-2, 15-13, 11-3).
Upsets, it was the same in the Women’s Doubles event but to a much lesser extent, just of the top four pairs did not progress to the semi-finals; Chinese Taipei’s Chen Ci-Xuan and Huang Yu-Jie, the no.3 seeds, experienced a quarter-final reverse when facing India’s Manushree Patil and Sen Prapti (11-5, 11-7, 11-5).
In the semi-final round, Manushree Patil and Sen Prapti meet Thailand’s Nanapat Kola and Jinnipa Sawettabut, the top seeds; in the opposite half of the draw Chinese Taipei’s Cai Fong-En and Chien Tung-Chien, the no.2 seeds face India’s Priyanka Pareek and Yashini Sivanskar, the no.3 seeds.
Play in the Junior Boys’ Singles and Junior Girls’ Singles events, as well as in the Junior Boys’ Doubles and Junior Girls’ Doubles competitions conclude on Wednesday 26th July.
Photos: courtesy of Jordan Table Tennis Federation
