World Cadet Challenge Boys Teams Final “Live” October 24, 2007
Posted by glenntepper in Glenn's point of view !, Mikael's opinion.Tags: china, ittf, table tennis, world cadet challenge
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European Girls with South African School Children clearly lift Franziska to early victory!
Europe-Asia Boys Team Final. The organisers dream matchup.
Match 1: Franziska[EUR] vs Nomura[ASI]
Key contest first on the table. German Patrick Franziska facing lefthander Japan’s Taiyo Nomura, both big and developed players that could easily be mistaken for much older.
Strong third ball attacks from both players characterised the early games with Nomura coming out stronger in first game. In the second Franziska manged to forced Nomura back form the table more, opening up the match and levelling the score at 1-1 with an 11-9 scoreline.
Game 3 Franziska looks comfortable at 9-7 before failing to return Nomura’s next 2 serves. Franziska finally converting the game on his 3rd game point with a well disguised long heavy backspin serve to the forehand, 13-11. Again the key being who can hold their ground close to the table.
Long topspin rallies puntuate the fourth game, with Nomura’s variation enabling him to level proceedings at 2-2 with an 11-7 scoreline.
In a clever ploy by the Europeans, the girl’s team sat with and befriended a local school group watching the match, taught them the european chants and it was game on for the europeans….
Clearly lifted by the crowd, Franziska took the final game 11-6 to give Europe the dream start they so sought.
Match 2: Song[ASI] vs Schmidl[EUR]
Europe-Asia but also Germany-China, so often the matchup in recent years with Timo Boll taking on the might of the chinese. Is today a glimpse into the future…….
Not an easy task, and a tight first game 12-10 to Song, led to a more relaxed Song and less positive Schmidl, 11-1 to Song.
Confidence gone for Christoph Schmidl, a timeout at 2-0 and 7-2 was called. A brave fightback but it was not enough 13-11 Song. Match scores 1-1.
Match 3:Le Breton[EUR] vs Law[ASI]
Lefthander Thomas Le Breton of France, playing at No 3 in all matches, used his strong forehand topspin to advantage, taking the first 12-10. In the second game The “speedy” Frenchmen grabs the initiative with the scored tied at seven and later converts on his second gamepoint to take a 2-0 lead – 11-9. In the third and what is to be the final game of this match, Law clearly struggles with the tempo of Le Bretons attack – 11-5 and Europe grabs the lead in the team final 2 – 1.
Match 4 ; Franziska (EUR) vs Song (Asia)
The Chinese lefthander Song opens this crucial fourth single with some furious forehand attack to grab an early lead. The young German rebounds but does not reach all the way ; 9-11. The same scenario appears in the second game. An early lead for Song who covers most of the table with his blistering forehand. Song this time converts on his third gamepoint to take a comfortable 2-0 lead ; 8-11 In the third Song once again jumps on the service of Franziska and puts the German under early pressure. The best rally of the match has Patric attacking with his forehand cross-court four, five times before the Chinese counter-blocks the last one to win the point . Well deserved win for Song , who was sharp all the way through; 6-11 and 0-3. The team match is now tied at 2.
Match 5 ; Schmidl (EUR) vs Nomura (AS)
The righthanded German Christoph Schmidl faces a tough task in the tall Japanese youngster Taiyo Nomura , a left-hander combining his great reach and skill with good feeling for the game. Nomura jumps out of the gate and takes the opening game 4-11.
In the second game it is however Schmidl with an early lead. Shortly thereafter 7-1 becomes 7-8 before the European coach Jarek Kolodziejczyk call for time. The European NR 2 settles down and puts two good revers spin services on the table to win the first attack and the points. Game over 11-8 for Europe.
Schmidl now clearly has the momentum and more or less runs away with the third game. He works hard to get into forehand attacking positions and seems to have the upper hand also in the service and return department ; 11-6 and 2-1 for Schmidl.
The lead alternates in the early stages, but Schmidl became hesitant. Perhaps thinking too early of the world cadet title…..Nomura’s increased aggresion gives him a 10-6 lead, before Schmidl refocuses to move to 9-10 at which time Asia calls a well timed timeout, …and the next point 11-9. 2-2
The World Cadet Challenge Boy’s Team title is down to one final game.
Huge rally at 2-0 for Nomura, with Nomura defending bravely for over 20 balls.
Nomura changes ends ahead by the narrowest of margins 5-4, but strong topspins into Nomura’s forehand gives Schmidl a 6-5 lead.
The european bench is on their feet as Schmidl takes a 10-7 lead, finally taking the match 11-8.
The bench erupts and players stream onto the court as the realisation sets in that Europe have won the World Cadet Challenge Team title for the first time.
Congratulations Europe!!
World Cadet Challenge Boys Teams Final Preview October 24, 2007
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Patrick Farnziska-the key to Europe’s chances
Europe-Asia final-the dream matchup for organisers.
Europe have had a chequered path to the finals narrowly defeating the “developing” continents, Latin America 3-2 in the group and Africa 3-1 in the semi. Their best performance came against Korea winning 5-0 but all 5 matches were closely contested.
European Cadet Champion, Hunor Szocs of Romania looks to be “out of sorts” losing easily in the semi final to African Khalid Assar[EGY] and looks certain to warm the bench during the team final in a surprise for all concerned.
Patrick Franziska[GER] seems to be the key to Europe’s chances. Training with Gonnern Bundesliga Team, his training oppurtunities are excellent.
Longtime European Coach Jarek Kolodziejczyk of Poland commented that his team told him “we believe”[we can win].
“The key is how the 2 germans handle the 2 left handers, Song of China and Nomura from Japan. On paper they are the favorites so we can play freely and see what happens”.
Let the games begin……
World Cadet Challenge; Cadet Girls Team Finals “LIVE” October 24, 2007
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Welcome to our coverage of the Cadet Girls Team finals here in Cape Town, South Africa.
SCORE: JAPAN 0 – Team ASIA 3
Match 1 ; Two familiar WCC athletes squared off in the opening singles – Misaki Morizono JPN vs Lee Ho Ching (HKG) Asia..Good speed in this match and really a splendid performance from the “slick” playing Hong Kong girl.. Lee , who sometimes drops in tempo and instensity put on a strong performance to win in three straight gamesagainst the Japanese nr one cadet and the defending World Cadet Challenge singles champion . Japan 0 – Team Asia 1
Match 2; One of the better players so far in this tournament has been the young Korean Yang Ha Eun.She did not disappoint her Asian team mates this time either and took the Japanese defender Ayuka Tanioka to school from the first point. I wonder how much difference the intense bench coaching made in this match. My guess – A lot ! Especially considering the fact that the appointed coach for Team Asia Guan Jian Hua , herself was a successful defender , taking the bronze medal at the World Championships in New Dehli 1987. Japan 0 – Team Asia 2
Match 3; I still think she is the “biggest sensation” so far in the ITTF Global Junior Programme. Listen to this; Born in 1994 , from Thailand, playing in only her fourth international competition, Suthasinee Sawettabut secures the title for the Asian team, defeating Yui Sato from Japan three games to zero. Japan 0 – Team Asia 3
World Cadet Challenge Girls Final Preview October 24, 2007
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Predictably[or not] depending where you sit, an all Asian Team final awaits-Asia vs Japan.
Europe girls were certainly not without their chances losing 2-3 to Japan in the group matches and 1-3 to Asia in the semi final.
This match will be a repeat of last years team final. 2 of the players LEE Ho Ching[HKG] for Asia and Misaki Morizono for Japan played last year and in fact met each other in the number 3 position with Morizono taking the match 3-1. Morozoni went on to become World Cadet Challenge Singles Champion.
Asian Coach, Guan Jian Hua of Hong Kong said “We will do our best, but we do not have a big strength. Our girls have played Japan before but mostly lost. Misaki is of course very dangerous as is their defensive player Tanioka. Our girls are not experienced against chop”.
She continued ” Our player, Yang Ha Eun of Korea is very strong with no obvious weaknesses, and Sawettabut of Thailand has improved a lot, but needs to improve her strengths. Training in China would help that”.
Japan will start favorites but it will be a closer contest than last year.Let’s see….
South African Table Tennis family shines! October 24, 2007
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Lyners Family typifies the South African Efforts
National Champion Sameera Maal carries water to the teams, one of the National Coaches, Anver Lyners is on his hands and knees placing sponsors logos on the barriers and floors.
These small examples typify the team effort here in Capetown at the World Cadet Challenge, where all requests are met with a smile, and everyone from the President down doesn’t mind doing what is required to achieve the best possible result.
Coaches, umpires, players, officials, volunteers have all combined into a tightly knit family, showing true South African hospitality, and organizational skills.
The visionary leader of South African Table Tennis, President Ganief Fataar has already signaled his intention to bid for 2012 World Junior Championships with the ultimate long term goal being the World Team Championships. No-one here would doubt their ability or sincerity to achieve this goal.
While all working here are part of the South African Table Tennis Family, 2 blood families typify the efforts made:
Anver Lyners, a former National Champion and one of the National Coaches is working with transport. His wife Zaida, is deputy referee and an international umpire, while daughter Shireen, a member of the National Team is working on results.
“Pedro” Meyer” is the godfather of Cape Town table tennis, coaching, playing and administrating for more years than the combined ages of most of the cadet teams here.
His son, Clement is National Coach. His grandson, Cody, is here playing, taking games from the experienced European and Asian players and gaining valuable experience for the future. Cody’s mother, Anna-Maria, herself a former National Champion, is also here supporting the South Africa cause.
Well done South Africa! You should be proud of your efforts!
http://www.ittf.com/competitions/competitions2.asp?Competition_ID=1656&category=WJCF
Close, but not Enough ! October 24, 2007
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The ITTF World Cadet Challenge team events are now moving in to the very final stage. In the Boys category , Team Europe survived a strong African challenge in one semifinal , whilst Team Asia cruised past Korea Republic in the other.
The “match of the morning”was no doubt the clash between Europe and Africa in the Cadet Boys event. Two hours of intense battles, emotions and some for this age excellent Table Tennis , propelled the Europeans to the next stage with the final score of three to one . In this match the real scare for coach Jarek Kolodziejczyk and his European troops appeared in the shape of a young Egyptian by the name of Khalid Assar . The tall Egyptian set the tone already in his first match when he completely “cleaned house” with the existing European champion Honor Szocs from Romania . Khalid, the younger brother of the nr one junior in Africa Omar Assar, showcased amazing skills and shot making capabilities to win 3/0 in his first match this morning. With the score 1-2 he once again entered the court and brought team Africa extremely close to forcing a deciding match. Assar sprinted out to a 2-0 lead against the versatile German Patric Franziska , before reality kicked in. A well timed break of action from coach Jarek with Franziska trailing 0-3 in the crucial fourth game, brought some order to returning and attacking directions for the German , who finally went on to secure the victory.
“ This was close. To be very honest i had small hopes for Patrick after watching Khalid Assar in his first match against Szocs . He simply played great and in general we have to be very happy to get an opportunity in the final. I think the time-out in the fourth game was the turning point for Patrick. After that he settled down and played with growing self-confidence” confessed the European head coach .
The Cadet Girls team event is , not surprising, an all Asian affair.The defending team champions of the World Cadet Challenge from Japan showed team Africa no mercy this morning and will now move on to play Team Asia in the girls final . Asia on the other hand faced off against Team Europe in a well play and hard-fought semifinal. The European girls had their chances but fell short of success when Sabine Winter from Germany failed to solve Suthasinee Sawettabut from Thailand in the crucial third single.
One player that deserves more than one positive comment so far is the young (born 1994) Korean addition to the Asian Girls team – Yang Ha Eun . Yang is a great youngster to observe , not only in the courts , playing some excellent table tennis , but also in the friendship and social department. The young Korean has quickly become the center of attention for many of the other girls thanks to her outgoing personality.
Thats it for now. Stay tuned and be patient. Lots more to come.
Mikael
Team Spirit… October 23, 2007
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Magalena Szczerkowska – an important piece of the European puzzle
Interesting team matches going on right now.. The Latin American boys team up against Korea Rep for a place in the semifinals and also deciding matches between Africa and North America (boys) and Africa with North America in the girls competition.
Always been a firm believer in Team Spirit as an important factor for success. The European team here in Cape Town is a living example of that… In some moments you even feel that whats lacking on the technical side easily is compensated by a tremendous fighting spirit.
I have to say that i really liked the small group gathering including a “team hand-shake” this morning before the matches started.
Day one of the 2007 World Cadet Challenge is now in the books. Team Africa emerged as the most successful team outside the big favourites – Europe and Asia. Both the African teams jumped on the opportunities given and defeated North America in the last round of the group matches.
The most dramatic match of the day was between Latin America and Korea Republic. Marcelo Aguirre and Ariel Teplitzky brought the team from Latin America to a 2-1 lead , but it was not enough as both Aguirre and finally Felipe Olivares failed to solve the hard working Koreans in the last two singles.
http://www.ittf.com/competitions/competitions2.asp?Competition_ID=1656&category=WJCF
Good things come in small packages! October 23, 2007
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Lily right with teammate Ariel Hsing
The youngest and smallest player at the tournament she may be, but Lily Zhang is not here [only] for the marketing team, she is here to compete.
Born 1996, with 4 World Cadet Challenges ahead of her the diminutive american played her first match this afternoon against Oceania, coming out victor in both matches 3-2, against older[and much bigger] opponents.
Tonight North America will take on Africa for a place in the medal round. Do they dare leave out the undefeated 11 year old?
Table tennis manufacturers “with the future in mind” will certainly have contracts poised for this young talent.
http://www.ittf.com/competitions/competitions2.asp?Competition_ID=1656&category=WJCF
Shouman the unstoppable October 23, 2007
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Fists a pumping for Shouman the unstoppable!
Some players look great in the practise hall, but seldom perform in competition. Others look ordinary in the practise hall, but come competition time excell. Mohamed Shouman of Egypt is definitely the latter, with mixed performances in the training hall but thriving in the thrill of competition, pumping his fist and running laps of the court.
In the morning danger match against Oceania, he got his team off to the perfect start beating Terry Zeng 14-12,9-11,17-15, 11-6 saving multiple game points in the critical first and third games. Longtime African Team Manager,Khaled El-Salhy, commented that “He is rare in Egyptian players. Most start well and fade towards the end of matches. Shouman on the contrary plays his best when it counts most at the end of matches”.
Taking both morning matches, his task was much more difficult in the afternoon, facing the formidable asian team.
The fists were pumping full force in his first ”David vs Goliath” encounter when the short and stocky Shouman again gave his team an edge winning his first match against the japanese giant, Taiko Nomura, himself a bronze medallist in the Asian Cadet singles.
Shouman the unstoppable finally met his match against Song HongYuan of China, a player many astute judges have as the early favorite for the singles. A good fight, with the game scores at 1-1, but Song’s overall power and strength was too much. A 3-1 record after 2 matches is still a good start.
Tonight Africa meet North America for a place in the medal round, so lets see how the pumping fists of Shouman the unstoppable fair……
http://www.ittf.com/competitions/competitions2.asp?Competition_ID=1656&category=WJCF
Match UPDATE Tuesday 9.30am October 23, 2007
Posted by Mikael in Uncategorized.2 comments
This is from the opening round of the team events;
Girls;
Europe swept Latin Am 5/0.. surprisingly easy. A strong Team Asia drove past North America 5/0.. good performance however by the twelve year old Ariel Hsing ,who had her chances against Suthasinee Sawettabut form Thailand in the opening match
Oceania vs Africa 2/3 was the closest of this mornings battles .. South Africa dropped their opening match against the Japanese National Team 0/5.
Boys;
Europe won 3/2 vs Latin Americaand showed good team spirit to put the pressure on the left-handed Chilean Felipe Olivares, who lost both his matches following a sub-par performance. Both points for Latin America scored by Marcelo Aguirrewho defeated Patrick Franziska 3/1 and Hunor Szocs 3/0…. Christoph Schmidl “match-winner” for the European team . With the score tied at one, he spoiled the WCC debut for Ariel Teplitzky from Argentina winning the key matchup three to one.
Oceaniacame out flat in their opener vs Africa. When Terry Zheng from New Zealand failed to convert on a number of opportunities in the opening single , and lost 1/3 to Mohammed Shouman, it was more or less over for the team from Oceania. The “highlight” in this team match, as it went along , was the encounter between Yoshua Singh and Adem Hmam… The winner this time was the same as in the memorable match in Santo Domingo 2005 – but with a closer score; 3/2 for Adem ..
Cody Meyershowed a good effort for the host nation as he made his individual match close with the Korean defender Kim Ji Wan .. In the end Kim was the winner 3/1.. The Koreans then marched on to victory with the total score of 5/0.
