by Neha Aggarwal
She was the winner earlier in the year in the Czech Republic and Sweden, the runner up in France. Maki Shiomi is certainly in thunderous form winning her third title, out of the four tournaments she has played so far this year.
In Spain, she defeated teammate Yumeno Soma in a clear one sided contest. Seeded no.1, Maki Shiomi won 11-3, 11-8, 11-3,11-5, a score which clearly depicts her dominance. Needless to say, Yumeno Soma proved the odds wrong as she made it to the finals being the unseeded player in the tournament.
In the semi-finals, Maki Shiomi out staged ninth seeded Yuka Minagawa also of Japan, in a five game contest (12-10, 9-11, 12-10, 11-5, 12-10). Shiomi and Minagawa displayed a great game, as they got close to close in three games ending at 12-10. But Shiomi proved to be the better off and won 4-1.
In the other semi-finals, Yumeno Soma defeated Japan’s Satsuko Odo in five games (10-12, 11-4, 13-11, 11-8,11-4).
After the win, Maki Shiomi said,
“I am happy but I feel really tired because I have played many matches today, especially playing against the Japanese players. This is my fifth tournament in the year, and my next tournament will be in Poland.” – Maki Shiomi
Four Japanese girls reached the semi-finals is a fact to think about. The Japanese have had some great successes recently with Tomokazu Harimoto, Miu Hirano and Mima Ito and with a high number of players in the junior section, its just a clear sign of their strategy to promote the game at the grass root levels is working well.
In the Junior Girls’ Doubles however, it was Chinese Taipei who secured the top spot. Chien Tung-Chuan and Wen Ruei-Ling won the Junior Girls’ Doubles title beating top seeded pair of Nadezhda Bogdanova and Daria Trigolos from Belarus in four games (5-11, 13-15, 11-7, 6-11).
Top seeds Nadezhda Bogdanova and Daria Trigolos from Belarus has a pretty clear run until the finals. In the semi-finals, they beat Russia’s Natalia Malinina and Arina Slautina in four games (11-5, 6-11, 11-4, 11-9). In the bottom half of the draw, the girls from Chinese Taipei Chien Tung-Chuan and Wen Ruei-Ling rippled their way to the finals beating Camille Lutz and Prithika Pavade (FRA) in also four games (11-7, 7-11, 11-9, 11-6).
The singles events in junior girls and boys have concluded, and from day three onwards, team events will start.
