by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor
At the quarter-final stage they were extended the full five match distance by Romania’s Elena Zaharia, Mihaela Plaeasu and Andreea Hudusan, before experiencing the same fate when confronting Hong Kong’s Wong Chin Yau, Lee Ka Yee and Chau Wing Sze.
Hard fought contests, the final was less dramatic; a three-nil verdict was the outcome in opposition to Serbia’s Sabina Surjan, Izabela Lulpulesku and Dragana Vignjevic
Mainstay of the success against Romania was Lee Yu-Peng, she accounted for Elena Zaharia in the opening match of the fixture (11-8, 11-2, 6-11, 10-12, 11-9) and Mihaela Plaeasu in the concluding contest (13-11, 11-9, 11-5).
Meanwhile, in the penultimate round when opposing Hong Kong, Lee Yu-Peng once again played a major role; in vital fifth match of the engagement, she overcame Lee Ka Yee (12-14, 11-4, 11-9, 11-5). However, the guiding hand was Chen Ting-Ting; she accounted for both Lee Ka Yee (11-9, 8-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-3) and Wong China Yau (8-11, 11-3, 11-9, 5-11, 11-3).
At the final hurdle there were no such troubles for the Chinese Taipei trio. Lee Yu-Peng who had lost to Sabina Surjan at the semi-final stage of the Junior Girls’ Singles event, gained revenge, She beat her nemesis (11-8, 13-11, 10-12, 11-7) to give Chinese Taipei the ideal start. Chen Ting-Ting followed suit by accounting for Izabela Lupulesku (5-11, 12-10, 11-5, 11-7), before Chen Ying-Chen prevailed against Dragana Vignjevic to end matters (10-12, 13-11, 11-9, 12-10).
“I already played against Sabina Surjan and lost but this time the victory was mine, this time I played a lot better. I could receive her serves well this is what helped me to win against her. The key to our victory was that we trusted in each other and ourselves.” Lee Yu-Peng
In the opposite half of the draw, at the quarter-final stage, the Serbian trio had recorded a three-nil win against Poland’s Agata Zakrzewska, Katarzyna Wegrzyn and Anna Wegrzyn prior to overcoming Russia’s Anastasia Kolish, Elizabet Abraamian and Ekaterina Zironova by three matches to one.
