by Ian Marshall, Editor

Jung Youngha partnered compatriot Shin Mikyoung to success in women’s team class 4-5; not seeded at the final hurdle the duo recorded a 2-0 win against the top seeded partnership formed by Croatia’s Helena Dretar and India’s Davina Patel.

Similarly, Yang Qian added to her women’s singles success; she joined forces with colleagues Melissa Tapper and Lei Lina to secure the class 9-10 title. The top seeds, in a group organised competition they finished ahead of Chinese Taipei’s Tian Shiau-Wen and Tin Tzu-Yu, the no.2 seeds.

Meanwhile, in the men’s team competition, partnering Tomasz Jakimczuk, Rafal Czuper claimed the team class 1-2 title. The top seeds, they recorded a 2-1 win in the final in opposition to the no.2 seeds, the combination formed by the Czech Republic’s Jiri Suchanek who lined up alongside Russia’s Rasul Nasirov and Dmitry Lavrov.

Success upon success for it was the same in class 11 for Florian Van Acker who allied with Korea Republic’s Jeoung Kyuyoung; at the final hurdle, the top seeds they posted a 2-0 win in opposition to Japan’s Takashi Asano and Takeshi Takemori, the no.2 seeds.

Unexpected success

Team wins for Rafal Czuper and Florian Van Acker, as expected they commenced play the top seeds; for Peter Mihalik it was slightly different; he had won men’s singles class 4, commencing play as the no.3 seed. In men’s team class 3-4 he began proceedings the no.2 seed, in partnership with colleague Boris Travnicek.

At the semi-final stage, the duo recorded a 2-1 win against the top rated French pairing of Fabian Lamirault and Alexandre Delarque, prior to achieving a 2-1 success in opposition to the partnership formed by Poland’s Maciej Nalepka and the Czech Republic’s Peter Svatos.

The top prize contrary to expectations, it was the same in the remaining men’s team events. Korea Republic’s Kim Kiyoung and Kim Kyungyoung, the no.2 seeds, secured the class 5 title by recording a 2-0 win in the final against the top seeded Chinese Taipei outfit comprising Cheng Ming-Chih, Lin Wen-Hsin and Lin Yen-Hung.

Second seeds enjoy success

Likewise in class 8, the no.2 seeds, the combination of Hungary’s Andras Csonka and Slovakia’s Richard Csejtey secured the top prize, posting a 2-1 win in the final against the top seeded pairing of Belgium’s Marc Ledoux and Great Britain’s Billy Shilton.

Also in class 9-10 it was gold for the no.2 seeds; Frenchman Gilles de la Bourdonnaye and Russia’s Iuri Nozdrunov secured a 2-0 win in the title decider when facing Poland’s Igor Misztal and Italy’s Lorenzo Cordua.

A surprise but the biggest surprise was the success gained by Poland’s Maksym Chudzicki and Michal Deigsler in class 6-7; not seeded at the final hurdle they recorded a 2-0 win against the top seeded outfit formed by Japan’s Masachika Inoue and Belgium’s Ben Despineux.

Major upset

Undoubtedly a surprise outcome, in the women’s team events there was also a major upset. In class 11, organised on a group basis, Poland’s Krystina Lysiak and Dorota Nowacka, the third highest rated outfit secured first place ahead of the no.2 seeds Japan’s Kanami Furukawa and Maki Ito. The top seeds, the Russian partnership of Anzhelika Kosacheva and Maria Galkina had to settle third position.

Otherwise, in the one further women’s team events, it was success for the top seeds. Also organised on a group basis, in class 6-8, Poland’s Dajana Jastrzebska and Katarzyna Marszal finished in first place ahead of the pairing formed by Japan’s Yuti Tomono and Italy’s Elena Elli.

Play concluded in Platja d’Aro, the next tournament on the calendar is the ITTF 12th Al-Watani Para Championships 2020; proceedings commence in the Jordanian capital city of Amman on Tuesday 24th March.

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