by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Manager
In the second match of the fixture she beat Lee Ka Yee (4-11, 11-7, 11-6, 6-11, 11-8), before in the fourth bringing matters to a conclusion by overcoming Chau Wing Sze in a rather less dramatic manner (11-3, 11-9, 11-3).
Undoubtedly Andreea Dragoman was the mainstay of the victory but equally Andreea Hudusan played a critical role; in the opening match of the engagement, by the very narrowest of margins she overcame Chau Wing Sze (11-9, 8-11, 11-8, 11-13, 12-10). It was the win that ignited the spark that fired the victory.
A place in the final booked but against China, the no.2 seeds, it was a step too high. However, again the efforts of Andreea Dragoman caught the eye. In the opening match, she extend Zhang Binyue, the winner two days earlier of the Junior Girls’ Singles title, the full five games distance, only losing by the very minimal two point margin in the decider (11-2, 11-8, 8-11, 8-11, 12-10).
Success for Zhang Binyue was followed with wins for Shi Xunyao and Sun Yizhen. Imposingly Shi Xunyao beat Andreea Hudusan (9-11, 11-9, 11-3, 11-5), before Sun Yizhen accounted for Denisa Urita to end matters (11-5, 11-4, 12-10).
Earlier in the counterpart semi-final, the Chinese trio had beaten the Chinese Taipei outfit comprising Cai Fong-En, Chen Ting-Ting and Wen Rue-Ling, the no.4 seeds, by three matches to nil.
Play concludes in Metz on Sunday 29th April with the cadet age group individual events.
