by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor
However, for David Serdaroglu, the door is not closed; in the Men’s Singles event, players finishing in first and second places in each of the 15 groups plus two “Lucky Losers”, drawn at random from the third placed players, join the32 seeds in the opening round.
Year to Remember
Presently David Serdaroglu is named at no.297 on the Men’s World Rankings; Arjun Ghosh has no such status, the highest of his career being no.793 in October 2013, a year when he enjoyed international success.
On the ITTF World Junior Circuit, he won the Cadet Boys’ Singles title at the Reliance Indian Junior and Cadet Open, whilst in El Salvador being the runner up and in Guatemala, a semi-finalist. In the former he was beaten by Hong Kong’s Kwan Man Ho, in the latter by Cuba’s Livan Martinez.
European Champions
Success at cadet level; two other players, who have enjoyed notable success in the that age group, made fine starts to their campaigns in the group stage of the Men’s Singles event in Panagyurishte.
Winner of the Cadet Boys’ Singles title at the 2014 European Youth Championships, Romania’s Rares Sipos beat Bulgaria’s Teodor Yordanov (11-9, 11-2, 11-7, 11-8); whilst the winner of the coveted title earlier this year, Russia’s Vladimir Sidorenko also made a most promising start to his campaign.
He accounted for Zlatin Tenev, like Teodor Yordanov, also from Bulgaria (11-1, 11-7, 11-6, 11-8).
A good start for Vladimir Sidorenko in the Men’s Singles event, it was the same in the group stage of the Under 21 Men’s Singles competition. He accounted for India’s Ravindra Kotiyan (11-9, 8-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-5) and the host nation’s Denis Bekir (11-4, 11-6, 13-11) to secure first place in the group.
Different Story
Alas for Arjun Ghosh, it was a different story; he was beaten by Chinese Taipei’s Peng Wang-Wei, the leading name in the qualification group stage (15-13, 6-11, 11-9, 11-5).
Later in the day Peng Wang-Wei accounted for Bulgaria’s Konstatin Vatov to secure first place in the group.
Places in the main draw of the Under 21 Men’s Singles event assured for Vladimir Sidorenko and Peng Wang-Wei; there is also hope for Arjun Ghosh who has one more match to complete.
Players finishing in first and second places in each of the eight groups join the 16 seeds in the opening round.
Proceedings in the qualification stage of both the Men’s Singles and Under 21 Men’s Singles events conclude on Thursday 25th August.
Latest Results
Wednesday 24th August: Men’s Singles – Qualification Stage
Wednesday 24th August: Women’s Singles – Qualification Stage
Wednesday 24th August: Under 21 Men’s Singles – Qualification Stage
Wednesday 24th August: Under 21 Women’s Singles – Qualification Stage
Thursday 25th August: Men’s Doubles – Preliminary Rounds
Thursday 25th August: Women’s Doubles – Preliminary Rounds
Friday 26th August: Under 21 Men’s Singles – Main Draw
Friday 26th August: Under 21 Women’s Singles – Main Draw
Friday 26th August: Men’s Singles – Main Draw
Friday 26th August: Women’s Singles – Main Draw
Friday 26th August: Men’s Doubles – Main Draw
Friday 26th August: Women’s Doubles – Main Draw
