by Ian Marshall, Editor

Guided by Ma Yufei, the destiny of the Under 21 Women’s Singles title was known; all four semi-finalists were from China. In the Under 21 Men’s Singles event, India’s Ronit Bhanja and Egypt’s Mahmoud Helmy stood in the way; they were semi-final adversaries.

The verdict went in favour of Ronit Bhanja (11-5, 11-4, 11-9); in the final he faced Wang Shaobo, who had booked his place in the title deciding contest, courtesy of success against colleague Liu Jialiang (11-8, 11-5, 11-6). A convincing semi-final win for Wang Shaobo, it was the same in the title decider; he beat Ronit Bhanja in three straight games (11-8, 11-3, 12-10).

Impressive from Wang Shaobo, it was the same in the Under 21 Women’s Singles event from Guo Yan; at the final hurdle she accounted for Fan Siqi (11-7, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9), having in the penultimate round beaten Sun Chen (11-6, 11-6, 12-10). In the corresponding semi-final, Fan Siqi had overcome Wang Shu (11-9, 15-13, 9-11, 11-7).

“We are delighted we reached the finals, it is our first time in Africa. It is a fantastic experience to be here in Nigeria. We plan to go all the way to the final in the Women’s Singles and also win gold. Nigeria meals are great and we have good accommodation and hospitality in our hotel, the country is great but a little different from ours. Nigerian people are very fantastic and loving people.” Ma Yufei

It is for Wang Shaobo and Guo Yan, their first ever titles at an ITTF Challenge Series or ITTF World Tour tournament.

2018 ITTF Challenge Seamaster Nigeria Open: Newsletter (Tuesday 7th August)

2018 ITTF Challenge Seamaster Nigeria Open: Newsletter (Wednesday 8th August)

2018 ITTF Challenge Seamaster Nigeria Open: Newsletter (Thursday 9th August)

2018 ITTF Challenge Seamaster Nigeria Open: Newsletter (Friday 10th August)

2018 ITTF Challenge Seamaster Nigeria Open: Newsletter (Saturday 11th August)