by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor

A combination of reversed smooth rubber on the forehand, anti-spin on the backhand and on occasions turning the racket in her hand, Jamila Laurenti did cause Kim Youjin problems but at the end of the day, the result underlined the fact there is no substitute for good basic technique.

Very correct, Kim Youjin is very much in the guise of her more senior colleague, Suh Hyowon; a style built around solid defence but she is prepared to top spin from the forehand.

“It’s the first time that I’ve ever played against anti-spin rubber; I was really confused at the start of the match. In the early part of the match I was rushing, I was a bit nervous. It surprised me that she kept playing all the time towards by backhand. I use long pimples on the backhand, when I’m defending from the backhand I feel confident. I need to improve my forehand topspin.” Kim Youjin

Success for Kim Youjin who played with her right arm heavily strapped as a precaution having felt some pain the previous day; there were also successes for the leading names on duty in the top half of the draw in the Girls’ Singles event.

China’s Sun Yingsha, the top seed, beat Egypt’s Mariam, Alhodaby (11-2, 11-3, 11-3, 11-6); Puerto Rico’s Adriana Diaz, the no.4 seed, accounted for Chinese Taipei’s Chen Ting (11-7, 11-6, 11-3, 11-4).

Similarly, Qian Tianyi, the no.7 seed, defeated Crystal Wang of the United States (11-7, 11-2, 12-10, 11-4), Japan’s Miyu Nagasaki ended the hopes of the Czech Republic’s Katerina Cechova (11-5, 11-1, 11-5 7-11, 11-5).

The second and third rounds of the Girls’ Singles event, in addition to the quarter-finals will be played on Saturday 2nd December.