by Ian Marshall, Editor

They recorded three-nil victory margins on each visit to the table; meanwhile, one of the most international combinations ever witnessed on the ITTF World Junior Circuit finished in second place and thus advanced to the main draw.

Portugal’s Tiago Li and Canada’s David Xu lined up alongside Iran’s Amirreza Abbasi and India’s Raegen Alburquerque, a team representing no less than three continents, secured runners up spot.

Similarly, it was a gathering of national associations in the guise of Japan’s Aoto Asazu and Takeru Kashiwa alongside Singapore’s Dominic Koh Song Jin that formed the second seeded outfit.

They duly topped their group, in the contest to determine first place, a three-one win was recorded against the Chinese Taipei ‘D’ formation of Chang Chi-Pin, Tsai Cheng-An and Wei Cheng-Ting. The one win for the hosts being secured by Chang Chi-Pin; in the third match of the fixture, he overcame Dominic Koh Song Jin (11-2, 11-6, 7-11, 11-9).

Backbone of the victory was Takeru Kashiwa, he beat both Wei Cheng-Ting (11-4, 11-7, 7-11, 12-10) and Tsai Cheng-An (11-8, 4-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-9); the one further success for the victors was secured in the second match of the engagement when Aoto Asazu succeeded in opposition to Tsai Cheng-An (6-11, 14-12, 11-8, 11-9).

Most imposing performances, it was the same from the no.3 seeds; Singapore’s Josh Chua Shao Han, Pang Yew En Koen and Gerald Yu Zong Jun showed not a morsel of charity. They recorded three-nil wins in each fixture; Hong Kong’s Pau Yik Man, Maurice Chong Kai Ning and Chan Yu Shun finished in second place.

Play in the Junior Boys’ Team event concludes on Thursday 23rd August.