by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor

The names of Kanak Jha of the United States and Brazil’s Carlos Ishida both appear on the entry list, the one missing is that of Russia’s Artur Abusev.

In Paraguay, Francisco Sanchi was beaten in the Junior Boys’ Singles final by Carlos Ishida, in Spain by Artur Abusev, before on home soil in Buenos Aires, he suffered at the hands of Kanak Jha.

Disappointments but three consecutive finals is a most creditable performance; the outcome is that on the 2017 ITTF World Junior Circuit Standings he listed at no.3 (2,275 points) and can look forward to an invitation to the Finals to be staged in Luxembourg in early February 2018.

In fact, Francisco Sanchi can lay claim to be the top player on the Standings. In order to qualify for the Finals, a player must compete in a minimum of two continents; the players listed higher, Bastien Rembert of France and Artur Abusev, have only played in France. Notably both names appear on the entry list for the 2017 Egypt Junior and Cadet Open to be staged in Sharm El-Sheikh in mid-October and will thus meet the criteria.

At the 2017 Croatia Junior and Cadet Open, Francisco Sanchi is the no.4 seed in the Junior Boys’ Singles event; Kanak Jha is the top seed, followed immediately by Chinese Taipei’s Feng Yi-Hsin and Italy’s Matteo Mutti.

Similar to Francisco Sanchi, both Kanak Jha and Feng Yi-Hsin have high aspirations of gaining an invitation to the Finals. Kanak Jha is named at no.17 (1,450 points) on the Standings; Feng Yi-Hsin, only 14 years old, at no.17 (1,306 points).

It is very much the same for Carlos Ishida; in addition to Paraguay, he competed in Argentina, the appearance in Varazdin means he fulfils the two minimum two continent requirement. Presently, he is named at no.17 (1,280 points).

A most impressive total of 126 players will compete in the Junior Boys’ Singles event in Varazdin.