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ITTF Challenge

2017 ITTF Challenge, Polish Open

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Challenge Series

Leading first day names make positive start

05 Oct 2017

One match played one match won; such was the situation for the host nation’s Natalia Bajor on the opening day of play, Wednesday 4th October, in the Women’s Singles qualification tournament to determine places in the main draw for the 2017 ITTF Challenge Polish Open in Czestochowa.

The second highest rated player on duty in the initial phase, she beat Sweden’s Huda Mustafa (11-8, 11-8, 11-3, 11-3) in an event where players finishing in first places in their respective groups plus four “Lucky Losers”, drawn at random from the runners up, join the 32 seeds in the main draw.

an ideal start fot Natalia Bajor (Photo: Masha Koshdar)

by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor

Likewise, Alina Arlouskaya of Belarus, the leading name on opening day Women’s Singles duty, made the ideal start to her campaign; she accounted for Hungary’s Orsolya Feher in four games (11-7, 11-4, 11-5, 11-6).

It was the same for the next two in the order of merit with Gabriela Feher’s compatriots Krisztina Ambrus and Mercedes Nagyvaradi in form. Krisztina Ambrus beat the host nation’s Agata Zakrzewska (11-8, 8-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-8); and Mercedes Nagyvaradi overcame Slovakia’s Nikoleta Puchovanova (11-7, 11-3, 11-5, 11-6).

Success as anticipated but there were close calls for five players who started the day as the leading names in their respective groups.

Both England’s Kelly Sibley and Croatia’s Mateja Jeger had to recover from three games to nil in arrears before securing victories. Eventually Kelly Sibley beat Ukraine’s Veronika Perebeinos (8-11, 9-11, 11-13, 11-7, 13-11, 11-3, 11-5), Mateja Jeger overcame Poland’s Aleksandra Michalak (8-11, 8-11, 9-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-7, 11-7).

Equally, India’s Ankita Das and Ukraine’s Ganna Fardalanska alongside Laura Pfeffer of France endured testing times; all were extended the full seven games distance.

Maintaining her focus, Ankita Das beat the host nation’s Angelika Janik (8-11, 11-6, 15-13, 11-6, 5-11, 10-12, 11-7); similarly Ganna Fardalanska overcame Roksana Zalomska, also from Poland (9-11, 9-11, 11-4, 11-7, 8-11, 11-6, 11-7). Meanwhile, Laura Pfeffer defeated a most dangerous adversary. She overcame Croatia’s Sun Jiayi (11-9, 8-11, 6-11, 3-11 13-11, 11-3, 11-5), the winner recently on the ITTF World Junior Circuit on home soil and in Slovenia.

Close calls and there was defeat for one leading name; listed at no.236 on the current Women’s World Ranking list, Kim Vermass of the Netherlands was beaten by Korea’s Choi Moonyoung (11-4, 11-4, 11-5, 11-5).

Earlier Choi Moonyoung had overcome India’s Sreeja Akula (11-5, 11-7, 11-3, 11-6) and thus ended the day as the only player in the qualification stage of the Women’s Singles event assured of first place in the group stage.

Neither Choi Moonyoung not Sreeja Akula own a current world ranking.

Challenge Series Natalia Bajor Choi Moonyoung

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