by Ian Marshall, Editor
Both Hsu Hsien-Chia and Vit Kadlec overcame Croatian adversaries; Hsu Hsien-Chia accounted for Leon Santek, the no.4 seed (12-10, 6-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-7), Vit Kadlec beat Lovro Zovko, the no.5 seed (11-9, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9). Likewise Kim Byeonghun prevailed in opposition to the host nation’s Matja Novel, the no.4 seed.
However, for the Croatians the defeat was not terminal, second place in the group and thus progress to the main draw was the outcome; alas for Matja Novel, withdrawal following the defeat, meant he had to settle for fourth position and thus the end of the road.
Lower down order
Surprise first places, lower down the order it was the same for Romania’s Hora Ursut and Ondrej Kveton; contrary to expectations they reserved first places.
Problems for prominent names; for Croatia’s Ivor Ban, Slovakia’s Adam Klajber and Belgium’s Nicolas Degros, the respective top three seeds, it was first place, as it was for the Czech Republic’s Adam Stalzer, the no.6 seed and Brazil’s Kenzo Carmo, the no.8 seed.
Similar outcome
First place against the odds in the junior boys’ singles group stage for Kim Byeonghun; it was the same n the cadet boys’ singles event as it was for colleague Lee Jungmok, Russia’s Aleksandr Gorochnyi and Romania’s Matei Dumitrescu. Unexpected outcomes but the player to cause the biggest surprise in the initial phase of the cadet boys’ singles event was Chinese Taipei’s Chao Po-Yu; he beat Belgium’s Tim Giltia, the no.2 seed on his way to group top spot (11-2, 11-2, 11-7).
Runners up spot for Tim Giltia, for the other leading names, it was first place. Brazil’s Shim Joon, the top seed, reserved pole position, as did Nolan Lerat, the no.3 seed and also from Belgium, in addition to the Czech Republic Vit Kadlec, the no.4 seed.
Less evident
Upsets in the junior boys’ singles and cadet boys’ singles events, in the counterpart girls’ competitions, the surprise first positions were less marked; in the junior girls; singles, the one notable name to experience defeat was Slovenia’s Katarina Strazar.
She beat Korea Republic’s Lee Seungeun in five games (7-11, 11-7, 6-11, 13-11, 11-9) but by a similar margin lost to Italy’s Nicole Arlia (11-5, 4-11, 8-11, 11-4, 11-9); in the concluding contest Lee Seungeun overcame Nicole Arlia in four games (10-12, 11-8, 12-10, 11-7). Thus games ratio decided, it was first place for Lee Seungeun (5:4), followed by Katarina Strazar (5:5) with Nicole Arlia (4:5) in third place and thus eliminated.
Top spot for principal names
An unexpected first place for Lee Seungeun, it was the same for colleague, Kim Taemin; otherwise it was top spot for the principal names.
Notably, the Czech Republic’s Linda Zaderova, the top seed, secured first place as did the next in line, Serbia’s Radmila Tominjak, Brazil’s Laura Watanabe and Slovenia’s Lean Paulin. Likewise it was first place for Brazil’s Giulia Takahashi, the no.5 seed, a situation that applied also to Serbia’s Reka Bezeg, the no.6 seed, and also from Slovenia, Lara Opeka, the no.8 seed.
First positions
Meanwhile, in the first phase of the cadet girls’ singles event, the leading names all secured first positions; Giulia Takahashi and Laura Watanabe, alongside Nicole Arlia and Poland’s Anna Brzyska, the top four names, all enjoyed success.
Expected names but there were unexpected names. Just as in the junior girls’ singles event Kim Taemin and Lee Seungeun secured surprise first places; a scenario that applied also to Chinese Taipei’s Yeh Yi-Tan and Hong Kong’s Poon Yat.
The main draw in the singles events commences on Saturday 5th October.
