by Calvin Koh

The 16-year-old Australian showed his form early in the competition when he topped his group with convincing 3-0 victories over Lionel Jan Erik Stift from Austria (11-5, 11-2, 11-4) and Germany’s Manuel Prohaska (11-8, 11-7, 11-5).

Lum was pushed to the distance by Federico Otalvaro in the Round of 64 but eventually prevailed 3-2 (9-11, 11-5, 11-7, 8-11, 11-9) over the Colombian. The young Australian then dispatched Russian Bator Radnaev and Puerto Rican Oscar Birriel Rivera in the Round of 32 and 16 to set up a quarter-final date with Daniel Berzosa, where he enjoyed a 3-1 (11-5, 11-3, 9-11, 11-5) win over the Spaniard.

The semi-final duel with Austria’s Liu Zhenlong was a closely fought battle, but a 3-2 win (11-4, 9-11, 11-13, 11-6, 12-10) for Lum eventually sealed his passage to the final which he won in 21 minutes.

“It has been a tiring couple of days, playing back-to-back events, so the key for me was to make sure I was mentally stable throughout the whole match. I’m just so happy I’ve won, and I hope to continue my good form for the Under-19 event now,” said a delighted Lum.

In what was described as the most brutal match of the week for Petr Hodina, the Austrian managed to hold his nerve to capture the Under-13 Boys’ Singles title.

Hodina fell behind early in the first game against Montenegro’s Jaksa Krivokapic but eventually won his next three games 3-1 (8-11, 11-7, 11-3, 12-10) to emerge as the champion.

“The final was my toughest match, and I’m just so happy I won. I made sure I played aggressively during the key moments, and it all worked out well,” said Hodina.

With the Under-17 and Under-13 Boys’ Singles champions crowned, attention turns to the finals of the Under-19, Under-15 and Under-11 Boys’ Singles competition, which will be contested on the final day of competition Sunday, November 7.

For more information on WTT Youth Contender Senec, click here.