Tournaments

09 Aug 2019

Members of Australia’s gold medal winning junior boys’ team earlier in the week, Nicholas Lum and Finn Luu added to their collection at the 2019 ITTF-Oceania Junior and Cadet Championships in Nuku’alofa, Tonga on Friday 19th August.

They combined to win the cadet boys’ doubles title, before less than one hour later being crowned junior boys’ doubles champions; notably for Finn Luu it was his fourth top step podium finish of the tournament, the previous day he had partnered colleague, Parleen Kaur, to junior mixed doubles success.

by Ian Marshall, Editor

In the junior boys’ doubles event, after accounting for New Zealand’s Jack Chen and Maxwell Henderson (11-5, 11-6, 11-3), Nicholas Lum and Finn Luu overcame colleagues, Hayden Green and Lee Yonghun (11-8, 10-12, 11-9, 14-12) to seal the title. In the corresponding half of the draw, in the penultimate round Hayden Green and Lee Yonghun ended the hopes of New Zealand’s Park Sang-Yong and Nathan Xu (9-11, 11-4, 11-13, 13-11, 11-5).

Success against fellow Australians, it was the same in the cadet boys’ doubles competition; a four games win was recorded against Isaiah Lee and Raymond Zhang (11-5, 11-2, 8-11, 11-5). One round prior, Nicholas Lum and Finn Luu had overcome New Zealand’s Jack Chen and Joseph Zhang (11-1, 11-8, 11-4); Isaiah Lee and Raymond Zhang had ended the progress of New Caledonia’s Mathis Viper and Emile Wapae (11-4, 11-5, 11-5).

Isaiah Lee partnered Raymond Zhang to cadet boys’ doubles gold (Photo: courtesy of ITTF-Oceania Junior & Cadet Championships)

 

Further titles for Australia, it was the same in both the junior girls’ doubles and cadet girls’ doubles events. Matilda Alexandersson and Parleen Kaur secured the former; the latter finished in the hands of Constantina Psihogios and Chermaine Quah.

Following success against New Zealand’s Maia Cavanagh and Minette Whitehead (11-6, 11-6, 11-9), Matilda Alexandersson and Parleen Kaur reserved the top step of the podium by overcoming New Zealand’s Sophie Low and Zhou Jiayi (6-11, 11-8, 11-3, 13-11), the somewhat surprise semi-final winners when facing Australia’s Oh Sue Bin and Michelle Wu, the no.2 seeds (9-11, 11-6, 13-15, 11-8, 11-6).

Success against New Zealand opposition; it was the same in the cadet girls’ doubles final. Constantina Psihogios and Chermaine Quah overcame Takaimaania Ngata-Henare and Minette Whitehead to secure gold (6-11, 12-14, 11-3, 11-4, 11-2), after having recorded a semi-final success in opposition to Fiji’s Filomena Duncan and Nerean Rotan (11-2, 11-3, 11-6). In the adjacent penultimate round contest, Takaimaania Ngata-Henare and Minette Whitehead halted the aspirations of Casonya Bates and Marenga Tua from the Cook Islands (11-2, 11-4, 11-4).

Chermaine Quah (front) and (rear) Constantina Psihogios, the cadet girls’ doubles champions (Photo: courtesy of ITTF-Oceania Junior & Cadet Championships)

 

The names of Chermaine Quah and Takaimaania Ngata-Henare prominent, they face each other in the cadet girls’ singles final; the latter name somewhat of a surprise. She beat Constantina Psihogios, the no.2 seed (6-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-5) to top her group, before at the semi-final stage ousting colleague, Minette Whitehead (11-4, 11-7, 11-7). In the counterpart semi-final, Chermaine Quah ended the hopes of Constantina Psihogios (11-7, 11-2, 11-9).

A surprise finalist, not in the cadet boys’ singles event, Finn Luu and Nicholas Lum meet; in the penultimate round both beat New Zealanders; Finn Luu accounted for Joseph Zhang (11-5, 11-5, 11-0), Nicholas Lum ended the hopes of Jack Chen (12-10, 12-10, 11-7).

Finalists as anticipated; in the junior girls’ singles event it is semi-finalists as expected with Australia providing three of the four names, the exception being New Zealand’s Zhou Jiayi. The no.2 seed, she faces Michelle Wu, the no.3 seed; in the opposite half of the draw Parleen Kaur, the top seed, opposes Matilda Alexandersson, the no.4 seed.

Zhou Jiayi flying the flag for New Zealand (Photo: courtesy of ITTF-Oceania Junior & Cadet Championships)

 

At the quarter-final stage Parleen Kaur beat Fiji’s Grace Rosi Yee (11-7, 11-6, 11-7, 11-2), Zhou Jiayi accounted for New Zealand’s Maia Cavanagh (11-7, 11-1, 11-5, 11-6); similarly in impressive fashion, Michelle Wu defeated Sophie Low, also from New Zealand (11-7, 11-6, 11-7, 11-9), Matilda Alexandersson ended the hopes of colleague Oh Sue Bin (11-6, 11-3, 12-10, 11-4).

The top four names through to the penultimate round as predicted; in the junior boys’ singles event there was one surprise name and like the junior girls’ singles line up, one name not from Australia. The surprise name was Isaiah Lee; the interloper, New Zealand’s Nathan Xu. Isaiah Lee beat Park Sang-Yong (11-4, 11-8, 8-11, 11-4) to secure first place in his group, before at the quarter-final stage ousting Maxwell Henderson (4-11, 11-1, 11-3, 3-11, 11-6, 11-5). He now faces Nathan Xu, the top seed and quarter-final winner in opposition to Australia’s Raymond Zhang (11-4, 11-3, 11-2, 7-11, 11-7).

Meanwhile, in the opposite half of the draw, Lee Yonghun, the no.2 seed, confronts Hayden Green, the no.4 seed; in the round of the last eight Lee Yonghun beat New Caledonia’s Adrien Perrot (11-6, 11-4, 11-2, 11-3), Hayden Green ended the hopes of Park Sang-Yong (11-1, 11-2, 11-8, 11-7).

Lee Yonghun faces Hayden Green in the junior boys’ singles semi-finals (Photo: courtesy of ITTF-Oceania Junior & Cadet Championships)

 

Play in Nuku’alofa concludes on Saturday 10th August.

2019 ITTF Oceania Junior & Cadet Championships Finn Luu Nicholas Lumm
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Day 2 - 2019 ITTF-Oceania Junior Championships