by Ian Marshall, Editor
The no.5 seed, at the final hurdle Owen Cathcart beat Dorian Zheng, the top seed (11-8, 11-8, 9-11, 13-11, 8-11, 11-9), after in the later rounds the Frenchman had ousted Russia’s Maksim Kaburkin (11-6, 11-9, 8-11, 11-6, 11-6), followed by success in opposition to Singapore’s Izaac Quek Yong, the no.3 seed (11-5, 12-10, 11-13, 12-10, 11-6).
In the opposite half of the draw, in the same rounds, Owen Cathcart had ousted Mikhail Tsyhanouski of Belarus (11-8, 11-4, 11-8, 11-8), prior to ending the hopes of Puerto Rico’s Angel Naranjo, the no.5 seed (10-12, 11-8, 11-9, 11-9, 11-3).
Success for Owen Cathcart, who plays in Sweden for Halmstad in the second division of the national league, it was his first such title but one more to add to his collection, in 2017 he won the cadet boys’ singles titles in Serbia and Slovenia.
“Yes, it was unexpected. I’m moving faster at the table and the final was my best performance during the day. The reason I won was because I was more aggressive and played strongly with my forehand topspin. My big goal this season is of course the European Youth Championships this summer in Zagreb,” Owen Cathcart
Crucial match
More success for Owen Cathcart, it was the same for Prithika Pavade; in 2018 she won the cadet girls’ singles title at the Swedish Junior and Cadet Open.
The top seed, in the final she beat Singapore’s Ser Lin Qian, the no.12 seed (11-7, 11-5, 11-6, 11-4), having at the semi-final stage secured victory in the match on which all eyes focused.
After recording a quarter-final win against Russia’s Vlada Voronina, the no.7 seed (11-9, 11-9, 11-5, 5-11, 11-9), she ended the progress of Japan’s Miwa Harimoto, the no.13 seed (13-11, 13-11, 7-11, 7-11, 12-10, 11-9). Thus she ended the 27 match winning streak of the 11 year old that had started just over one week ago on Wednesday 12th February at the Czech Junior and Cadet Open.
In the opposite half of the draw, in the later rounds, Ser Lin Qian had beaten Russia’s Liubov Tentser, the no.15 seed (16-14, 11-8, 4-11, 3-11, 7-11, 11-4, 11-2), prior to halting the progress of Norway’s Martine Toftaker, the no.10 seed (8-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-9, 12-10).
“I played very well. In the two years between the victory in the cadet class and today, most in my game I have improved my service. I now have good serves, I have a quick backhand and I can put a lot of spin on my first attack on forehand.” Prithika Pavade
Notably for Prithika Pavade it was her second ITTF World Junior Circuit girls’ singles title; last year she won on home soil in Metz.
Titles for Russia and Japan
Meanwhile, in the junior boys’ doubles, it was success for Russia’s Rusian Cherekes and Maksim Kaburkin; at the final hurdle they beat the combination of Mikhail Tsyhanouski and Panama’s Jacob Vahnish (11-3, 4-11, 11-4, 12-10).
Success for Russia, in the junior girls’ doubles it was success for Japan; Sachi Aoki and Miwa Harimoto claimed the title at the final expense of Liubov Tentser and Vlada Voronina (11-7, 11-5, 14-16, 11-8).
Attention now turns to the mini-cadet boys’ singles and mini-cadet girls’ singles events; in addition the Elite class in both the men’s singles and women’s singles competitions is on the agenda.
