by Ian Marshall, Editor
Lilian Bardet and Dorian Zheng occupy the top seeded spot in the junior boys’ team event ahead of India’s Manush Utpalbhai Shah and Raegan Alberquerque; in the junior boys’ singles competition Manush Utpalbhai Shah is the top seed, followed by Lilian Bardet and Dorian Zheng, Raegan Alberquerque is the no.7 seed.
All are players who have enjoyed notable success on the ITTF World Junior Circuit; last year Manush Utpalbhai Shah was the junior boys’ singles runner up in Jordan, Raegan Alburquerque in Egypt. Notably, this year in Bahrain, Lilian Bardet was the runner up, Dorian Zheng a semi-finalist.
However, the names that attract the attention are those of the host nation’s Zeng Beixun, Quan Kaiyuan and Gao Yang. They form the third seeded combination in the junior boys’ team event ahead of the Japanese formation comprising Hayata Suzuki, Ryoichi Yoshiyama and Takeru Kashiwa.
Impressively, three months ago in March in Italy, Zeng Beixun was the junior boys’ singles runner up, Gao Yang a quarter-finalist; more significantly, one month later Quan Kaiyuan won in Belgium. In the junior boys’ singles competition Zeng Beixun is the no.4 seed ahead of Takeru Kashiwa and colleague Horoto Shinozuka; Quan Kaiyuan is the no.8 seed, Gao Yang is much further down the order. He is the no.21 seed. Notably last year Takeru Kashiwa was a semi-finalist in Hungary; Hiroto Shinozuka, a quarter-finalist in Hong Kong.
Eyes focused on the host nation in the junior boys’ team and junior boys’ singles events, it is very much the same in the cadet boys’ team and cadet boys’ singles competitions.
Currently listed in top spot on the cadet boys’ world rankings, Chen Yuanyu joins forces with Chen Yaxuan and Shen Feng in the cadet boys’ team event, a competition in which the trio occupies the second seeded position behind Hong Kong’s Yiu Kwan To and Yu Nok.
Meanwhile, in the cadet boys’ singles Chen Yuanyu heads the list being followed by Iran’s Navid Shams, Hong Kong’s Yiu Kwan To and India’s Payas Jain.
Play commences with the team events; the team events begin on Friday 14th June.
