by Ian Marshall, Editor

Surprises but not of gigantic proportions; Wijittra Jaion, Merve Demir and Lola Amalia all started proceedings as the no.2 seeds.

Wijittra Jaion beat India’s Bhavina Hasmukh Bai (11-7, 11-8, 6-11, 11-9) to claim the class 4-5 title, an impressive win against a player very much in form; at the semi-final stage Bhavina Hasmukh Bai had ousted Korea Republic’s Jung Younga, the top seed (11-7, 11-8, 6-11, 11-9).

Success in four games at the final hurdle; for Merve Demir in class 9-10 it was the very much the same. She overcame top seed and colleague Neslihan Kavas (11-6, 12-10, 2-11, 12-10) to claim gold. The first prize for Merve Demir at the expense of a top seeded compatriot; it was the same for Lola Amalia; in a group organised class 11 event, she finished ahead of Ana Widyasiri.

Likewise in the men’s singles it was a very similar scenario, the second seeds causing the surprises; the one exception being Wanchai Chaiwut who did not appear amongst the leading names in class 4. In the final he accounted for Turkey’s Nesim Turan, the no.2 seed (11-6, 7-11, 11-4, 10-12, 11-2); on the opening day, also from Turkey, Abdullah Ozturk, the top seed, had been forced to withdraw from proceedings.

Nevertheless it was a fine effort from Wanchai Chaiwut, as it was from Valentin Baus in class 2, in opposition to a player in form. In the title deciding contest he accounted for the host nation’s Hassan Tolba (11-5, 9-11, 11-8, 11-7), the surprise semi-final winner when confronting Turkey’s Ali Ozturk, the top seed (11-6, 11-9, 10-12, 11-9).

Noteworthy performances, it was no different in group organised events from Ali Al-Saedi and Clément Berthier. In class 1-2 Ali Al-Saedi finished ahead of Kuwait’s Hamed Latif with Egypt’s Ahmed El-Mahsy, the top seed, having to settle for third position; in a somewhat similar vein in class 8, Clément Berthier reserved first place ahead of Thailand’s Phisit Wangphonphatanasiri, the top seed.

Surprises, in the remaining competitions, the top seeds prevailed. In the women’s singles events Sweden’s Anna-Carin Ahlquist beat Turkey’s Hatice Duman to secure class 1-3 gold (11-5, 11-5, 11-4); in group administered events, in class 6, Egypt’s Hanna Hammad ended matters ahead of Iraq’s Najlam Al-Dayyeni; a situation that applied to Kelly van Zon of the Netherlands in class 7 and Thu Kamkasomphou of France in class 8. Respective runners up spots finished in the hands of Turkey’s Kubra Korkut and Thailand’s Sumalee Suangtho.

Meanwhile, in the men’s singles categories, Germany’s Thomas Schmidberger beat Thailand’s Anurak Laowong (11-4, 9-11, 11-7, 11-3) to secure the class 3 title, a scenario also relevant to Jean-Paul Montanus of the Netherlands and Belgium’s Laurence Devos. At the final hurdle in class 7 Jean-Paul Montanus beat Frenchman Stéphane Messi (11-9, 11-8, 8-11, 7-11, 11-9), in class 9, Laurens Devos accounted for Malaysia’s Chee Chao Ming (11-5, 11-2, 11-3).

Notably, in a similar manner in class 10 Indonesia’s David Jacobs overcame colleague Komet Akbar (11-7, 11-4, 11-13, 11-3) to reserve the top step of the podium.

Titles secured as expected; it was the same in group managed scenarios; in class 6 Rungroj Thainiyom finished ahead of Italy’s Raimondo Alecci, in class 11, it was pole position for Korea Republic’s Kim Changgi. Kuwait’s Fahad Alotaibi ended matters the silver medallist.

Play continues in Alexandria with the men’s team and women’s team events; proceedings conclude on Friday 28th June.

2019 Para Egypt Open: Latest Results and Draws