by Ian Marshall, Editor
The most notable name on duty is that of Canada’s Edward Ly, the winner of the junior boys’ singles title at last year’s United States Open.
He is the no.4 seed, behind the host nation’s Filip Delincak and Adam Klajber; Poland’s Szymon Kolasa is the no.3 seed. Notably, earlier this year on the ITTF World Junior Circuit in Morocco, Filip Delincak and Adam Klajber proved more than worthy competitors. Filip Delincak was the runner up, Adam Klajber a quarter-finalist.
Similarly, Kai Zarehbin from the United States reached the quarter-final round in August in El Salvador; otherwise the leading players on duty in Nitra have yet to make their presence felt. Italy’s Marco Cappuccio, the Czech Republc’s Jan Mokrey’s and Poland’s Lucasz Sokolowski complete the top eight names.
Significant impact
Likewise, in the junior girls’ singles event, amongst the most prominent, the player to have made a significant impact is the host nation’s Eliska Stullerova; like Filip Delincak and Adam Klajber she was also on duty in June in Morocco, in the junior girls’ singles event she reached the semi-final round.
In Nitra she is the no.8 seed. Norway’s Martine Toftaker is the top seed, followed by England’s Charlotte Bardsley, the Czech Republic’s and Klara Hrabicova. Next in line is the French duo of Marie Chapet and Charlotte Lutz; they are followed by the Czech Republic’s Jana Vasendova and Slovakia’s Zuzana Pekova.
Charlotte Lutz
Prominent in the junior girls’ singles event, the name of Charlotte Lutz is also prominent in the cadet girls’ singles competition. She is the top seed ahead of Germany’s Jele Stortz, Italy’s Nicole Aria and the host country’s Dominika Wiltschkova.
Early this year in cadet girls’ singles events, Charlotte Lutz was a quarter-finalist in France and Croatia, Jill Shortz reached the semi-finals in Serbia as did Dominika Wiltschkova in Morocco.
Made presence felt
Similarly, in the cadet boys’ singles events, the respective top four names on duty in Nitra have all made their presence felt on this year’s ITTF World Junior Circuit. Iran’s Navid Shams was a semi-finalist in France and Bahrain, Gabrielius Camara was a quarter-finalist in Croatia, a round he reached last year in Slovakia.
Also this year, Ecuador’s Diego Piguave advanced to the last eight in Chile and was a semi-finalist at the Latin American Junior and Cadet Championships; the Czech Republic’s Matyas Lebeda, emerged a bronze medallist in Morocco.
Same names
Top of the order in the junior boys’ singles event, Filip Delincak and Adam Klajber head the junior boys’ doubles seeding; likewise the leading name in the junior girls’ singles event is also in first place in junior girls’ doubles order of merit. Martine Toftaker partners colleague Anna Klempererova.
It is the same scenario in the cadet boys’ doubles, Iran’s Navid Shams and Russia’s Sergei Bruskov top the list, in the cadet girls’ doubles Charlotte Lutz and colleague Clea de Stoppeleire lead the order.
Team events
Play commences with the individual events; the team events begin on Friday 1st November.
Just as in the individual events Filip Delincak and Adam Klajber head the order, they line up alongside colleague Dalibor Diko; in the junior girls’ team competition, the combination at the top of the order is England’s Charlotte Bardsley and Millie Rogove alongside Martine Toftaker.
Meanwhile, just as in the cadet boys’ doubles, Navid Shams and Sergei Bruskov head the cadet boys’ team seeding; in the cadet girls’ team competition the host nation’s Ema Cincurova and Dominika Wiltschkova occupy the highest place.
