by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor
Sun Yingsha gave China the perfect start by beating Adina Diaconu; the balance, the movement displayed was exemplary. One must admire the skills and splendid attitude of Adina Diaconu but in the rallies Sun Yingsha possessed the vital attribute of being able to keep the ball on the table one stroke longer than her adversary; a straight games outcome was the end result (11-3, 11-6, 11-6).
“It’s already the semi-final stage. Romania is one of the stronger teams in Europe. I played the match the same way I would have played a final. It’s also a way of getting prepared for the final tomorrow, to get myself into a rhythm. I was well prepared for the match, so I didn’t face many difficulties on court; certainly Diaconu is stronger than the other players I have faced in this tournament. It’s my first World Junior Championships, so I have not played against many European players before but her first three strokes were similar to Chinese players. She makes less unforced errors compared to other European players.” Sun Yingsha
Success for Sung Yingsha was followed by success for Wang Manyu who found Andreea Dragoman a most worthy opponent, a fact underlined by the second game; the Romanian matched her illustrious adversary blow for blow (11-4, 20-18, 11-3).
A splendid effort from Andreea Dragoman, it was the same from Tania Plaian against Shi Xunyao; a further straight game verdict concluded play (11-2, 11-5, 12-10).
Imposing from China, it was the same from Japan against Korea. Miyu Kato gave her team the start desired by beating Kim Youjin (11-5, 11-4, 11-4), before eventually, Miyuu Kihara overcame Kim Jiho (11-7, 8-11, 11-1, 6-11, 11-5) and Miyu Nagasaki ended matters by defeating Shin Yubin (11-9, 9-11, 11-3, 12-10)
“I’m the captain of the team so it’s important I set a good example and give the team a good start.” Miyu Kato
“Playing the third match you are under pressure, it’s an important position in the team.” Miyu Nagasakai
“Miyu gave the team a really good start today; she won so playing the second match there was less pressure.” Miyuu Kihara”
The final of the Girls’ Team event is scheduled for 5.00pm (local time) om Wednesday 29th November
