On the first day of competition at the Asian Junior Championships in
Jaipur, India, the boys and girls of the Democratic People’s Republic
of Korea proved to be competitive with the best.
The boys lost
unluckily against Chinese Taipei, in spite of Pak Sin Hyok’s win over
reigning World Junior champion Chen Chien-An.
North Korea’s girls for their part were successful against the top-seeded Japanese.
Chinese Taipei’s Boys Save Their Neck
Chen
Chien-An and Chang Shun Hung brought Chinese Taipei 2-0 ahead against
the North Korean squad. The latter, however, levelled the game after
Pak Sin Hyok had beaten the World Junior champion from Madrid 2008 Chen
Chien-An.
Chang Shun Hung versus Ri Kwang Won was the crucial
fifth match and the Chinese eventually prevailed in five games. Both
teams should be able to finish on the first two spots of the Group B in
order to get a good seed for the main draw starting on Thursday
afternoon.
Japanese Girls Lose First Match
The
North Korean girls prevailed in their first match against the top
seeded Japanese. Kim Hye Song first beat Ayuka Tanioka and then Misaki
Morizono. With two defeats, it was a real cold start for Japan’s top
player Misaki Morizono.
The Group A promises to be exciting.
Japan, Chinese Taipei, Singapore and DPR Korea are all very
competitive. It will be difficult task for the girls from Sri Lanka to
qualify for the quarter-finals.
Please find here the results from the 15th Asian Junior Championships in Jaipur, India.
Source: www.ittf.com
