by Ian Marshall, Editor
At the final hurdle she beat Anna Hursey of Wales, the top seed (11-7, 11-3, 11-9), having at quarter-stage ousted Singapore’s Ser Lin Qian, the no.4 seed (11-5, 11-9, 11-9), prior to overcoming Emily Tan of the United States, the no.5 seed (11-9, 11-9, 9-11, 11-7) to reserve her place in the final.
“It’s amazing to win here, I played really well.” said Miwa Harimoto
Impressive from Miwa Hariomoto, it was the same from Anna Hursey; in the later rounds, she accounted for Purvi Soni of the United States, the no.8 seed (11-8, 11-7, 11-5), before ending the aspirations of Egypt’s Hana Goda, the no.3 seed (11-9, 11-9, 9-11, 11-7).
Success for Miwa Harimoto, only 10 years old, she also excelled in the cadet girls’ singles event; in the opening round she beat England’s Millie Rogove (11-4, 11-3, 11-4), before accounting for Darya Vasilenka of Belarus (11-3, 11-3, 11-2) to book her place in the third round and keep medal hopes alive.
Closely watching the progress of Miwa Harimoto was Per Hällström, the Press Officer for the Safir International.
“Miwa told us that she started playing at two years of age. In the beginning with her parents; probably she looked up to her elder brother, Tomokazu and was inspired by his improvement. Tomokazu Harimoto was 11 and a half years old when he first visited Sweden and was a tremendous success. Miwa is just 10 and a half years old. She showed the crowd and her opponents her excellent skills. For the past two years, she has practised three hours a day, six days a week. She has had a personal coach for the past two years ago.” Per Hällström
A successful start for Miwa Harimoto in the cadet girls’ singles event; it was the same for the top four seeds, all of whom starting their journey in round two.
Kako Akae, the top seed, beat Lara Whitton of Wales (11-5, 11-9, 11-3), Singapore’s Zhou Jingyi, the no.2 seed, ousted Kayleigh Cui of the United States (11-4, 11-4, 11-7). Meanwhile, Anna Hursey, the no.3 seed and Germany’s Annett Kaufmann both halted Russian aspirations. Anna Hursey overcame Vlada Voronina (11-8, 11-9, 5-11, 11-6), Annett Kaufmann accounted for Anastasya Kovrigina (11-6, 11-6, 8-11, 11-8).
Play at the Safir International, of which the Swedish Junior and Cadet Open is a part, concludes on Sunday 24th February.
