Taipei pair wins title; Indian challenge ends

Mumbai, September 15, 2014: The Chinese Taipei pair of Sun Chia-Hung and Chiu Ssu-Hua defeated Hong Kong’s Ho Kwan Kit and Doo Hoi Kem in the final of the Mixed Junior Doubles to win the title at the 20th Asian Junior Table Tennis Championships at the Sardar Patel Stadium here tonight.

The mixed doubles event had all the trappings of a final with rival pairs putting up a great fight. In the end, it was the Taipei combine which took the crown, thanks to the duo’s perseverance. No doubt both Ho and Doo were giving enough headaches but both Sun and Chiu were up to the task and took the first extended game at 16-14.

If one thought that was a good beginning, the duo lost the second only to pull back in the third game of fluctuating fortunes. With 2-1 up, the pair upped the ante to put it across the Hong Kong duo.

In Cadet Boys singles, top-seed Hwang Minha, No. 2 seed Japanese Yuto Kizukuri, No. 3 An Jaehyun from Korea and fifth seed Lin Yun-Ju entered the semifinals. Only Yuto was stretched a bit while the others moved up the ladder without any concern.

Similarly, in Cadet Girls it was a cakewalk for both top-seed Miu Hirano of Japan and China’s Mu Jingyu, the No. 4 seed, against their North Korean and Hong Kong rivals, respectively. But the two Chinese Qian Tianyi and Sun Yingsha it was a tough and go affair. Qian upset No. 2 seed Mima Ito of Japan 3-2 while the unseeded Sun defeated her unseeded opponent Ko Un Gum from North Korea.

Ayhika Mukherjee, the lone Indian to make it to pre-quarterfinals the Junior Girls, lost to No. 6 seed Chinese Wang Manyu 3-1 (11-5, 11-13, 8-11, 5-11, 4-11). The Indian, who began on a bright note winning the first game, failed against a sustained onslaught from the Chinese to lose the encounter.

Earlier, Ayhika and Priyadarshini Das had reached the quarterfinals of the Junior Girls doubles but the Indian pair lost to Chinese duo of Wang Manyu and Chen Ke in straight games. With that, the Indian challenge at the championships had ended.

The Results:

Mixed Junior Doubles (Final): Sun Chia-Hung/Chiu Ssu-Hua (TPE) bt How Kwan Kit/Doo Hoi Kem (HKG) 3-1 (16-14, 5-11, 17-15, 11-8).

Cadet Boys (QF): Hwang Minha (KOR) bt Chen Chun-Hsiang (TPE) 3-0 (12-10, 11-7, 11-7), Lin Yun-Ju (TPE) bt Takuto Izumo (JPN) 3-0 (11-7, 11-7, 11-5), Yuto Kizukuri (JPN) bt Kim Daewoo (KOR) 3-1 (12-10, 11-8, 6-11, 11-7), An Jaeyhun (KOR) bt Tan Lucas (SIN) 3-0 (12-10, 11-7, 11-6).

Cadet Girls (QF): Mu Jingyu (CHN) bt Lee Ka Yee (HKG) 3-0 (11-4, 11-1, 11-3), Qian Tianyi (CHN) bt Mima Ito (JPN) 3-2 (11-5, 9-11, 11-8, 4-11, 11-3), Sun Yingsha (CHN) bt Hina Hayata (JPN) 3-2 (12-10, 11-5, 11-13, 5-11, 11-7), Miu Hirano (JPN) bt Ko Un Gum (PRK) 3-0 (11-4, 11-3, 11-5).

TTFI release