"Koki, Koki, Koki" was the name chanted in unison by the massed
bands of Japanese supporters as they gathered around table three to pay
homage to their rising star; a pearl in a sea of talent.
He did
not disappoint; in four straight games he delivered the goods in the
group stage of the Men’s Singles event at the H.I.S. World
Championships in Yokohama on Tuesday 28th April 2009, beating Khurshed
Salibaev of Tajikistan in impressive mode.
Koki Niwa, only 14 years old, won 11-5, 11-2, 11-2, 11-5.
Comprehensive
It was a
most comprehensive display by the young man making his debut at a World
Championships, having earlier in the year impressed on his opening
venture on the ITTF Pro Tour at the Qatar Open in Doha.
The
rising Japanese star, very much in the mould of Jun Mizutani, delighted
in the Swedish city of Helsingborg in November 2008 when, the youngest
player in action, he won the Boys’ Singles crown at the ITTF Junior
Circuit Finals.
In Yokohama he delighted again and he delighted his adoring fans.
Further Young Men Impress
Niwa
was one of six young players who have benefited from the ITTF Global
Junior Programme, to make a fine start to their exploits in the Men’s
Singles event on the opening day of play.
Iran’s Noshad Alamiyan
was totally focused and completely undemonstrative in his efficient win
over Norway’s Jan Berner; he won 11-3, 13-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-6 in a
contest where the young man, who earlier in the year had won the Boys’
Singles title at the Doha Junior Open, asserted his authority at the
crucial stages.
Latin American Joy
Similarly
for the Latin American trio of El Salvador’s Josué Donado, the
Dominican Republic’s Juan Antonio Vila and Colombia’s Juan Restrepo,
all players to reap benefits from the ITTF Global Junior Programme, it
was successful start to endeavours.
Donado beat Sudan’s Mozami
Suliman 12-10, 11-3, 11-3, 11-5, Vila overcame Kyrgyzstan ¡s Bektemir
Ysmailov 11-5, 11-8, 5-11, 11-6, 11-6 whilst Restrepo accounted for
Anders Carrington of Barbados 9-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-9, 11-9.
Success for Singapore
Meanwhile,
not to be outdone by the Latin American trio, Singapore’s Pang Xue Jie,
who won the Cadet Boys’ Singles crown at the ITTF Junior Circuit
tournament in Taiyuan in September 2008, also made a fine start.
He defeated Osvaldo Herrera of Honduras, a young man currently studying in Chinese Taipei, in straight games.
He won 11-9, 11-5, 11-7, 11-3.
Source: www.ittf.com
