by Simon Daish
Seeded fourth and sixth respectively for the competition Japan ‘A’ and Japan ‘B’ maybe weren’t the favourites to reach the title deciding match heading into the Junior Boys’ Team draw, but with both sides avoiding defeats at the quarter-finals and semi-finals stages the trophy win was guaranteed for the country.
The final was a tense affair and provided the spectators with plenty of exciting moments.
Japan ‘A’ took the opening lead in the tie after Shunsuke Togami registered a comfortable victory against Takeru Kashiwa (11-6, 11-5, 11-5) and the higher seeded side’s chances of success continued to show promising signs as Kakeru Sone claimed a fifth game win over Aoto Asazu (4-11, 11-3, 8-11, 11-8, 13-11).
However, despite making a slow start to the match Japan ‘B’ responded well with Kazuki Hamada and Aoto Asazu defeating Jo Yokotani (8-11, 10-12, 11-9, 11-9, 7-11) and Shunsuke Togami (9-11, 11-6, 11-4, 4-11, 4-11) to level the match.
The final result would be decided depending on the outcome of the fifth match, and despite Takeru Kashiwa’s best efforts it was Kakeru Sone who came out on top (11-3, 17-15, 11-5) as Japan ‘A’ lifted the trophy.
While the Junior Boys’ Team final may have featured an all-Japan lineup, the Cadet Boys’ Team final witnessed two European nations going head-to-head for glory in Wladyslawowo–Cetniewo.
Hungary ‘A’ lived up to the first position seeding it was assigned prior to the event by claiming the title with a 3-1 triumph in the final, while the sixth seeds Germany ‘A’ should be content with a second position finish.
The 2017 Polish Junior and Cadet Open concludes on Sunday 28th May.
Follow the action live on the Official ITTF Channel.
(Photos: Bogdan Pasek)
