2015 Butterfly Canadian Junior and Cadet Open: Medal Contenders in Markham
Courtesy of ITTF
Defeat by the narrowest of margins on the first morning of play at the QOROS 2015 World Championships in the Chinese city of Suzhou but Angela Guan and Amy Wang of the United States were much the focus of attention.
They were beaten by the Kazakhstan partnership of Gulcherka Khusseinova and Anastasiya Lavrova by the very narrowest of five game margins in the preliminary stage of the Women’s Doubles event.
The fact that Amy Wang, at 12 years old, was the youngest player in the tournament and Angela Guan is only 17 years old, attracted the attention of the crowd.
Highly Rated
Now once again they are set to attract the attention; both appear on the entry list for the forthcoming 2015 Canadian Junior and Cadet Open. Play starts in the Toronto suburb of Markham on Monday May 11th.
Furthermore, they are major contenders for honors; in the Junior Girls’ Singles event they are the second and third highest rated players on duty, the highest being their compatriot, Prachi Jha.
World Status
On the current Under 18 Girls’ World Rankings, Angela Guan appears at no.65, Amy Wang is listed at no.120; however, more pertinently, Amy Wang is at no.27 on the Under 15 Girls’ World Rankings.
Both have made progress as a result of their exploits in Suzhou, on the April listings.
Angela Guan was at no.72, having started the year in January at no.90; for Amy Wang it was a return to the order of merit, her ranking having lapsed following an absence from international play.
She started the year at no.146 in the Under 18 Girls’ World Rankings, at no.33 on the Under 15 Girls’ World Rankings.
Creditable Results
In Suzhou in the Women’s Singles event, both had most creditable results.
Amy Wang finished in second place in her group; she beat Canada’s Alicia Cote and Iran’s Mahjobeh Omrani, before losing to former African champion and French international, Sarah Hanffou.
Equally Angela Guan was impressive; she secured first place in her group. She beat Uzbekistan’s Olga Kim, Portugal’s Catia Martins and Turkey’s Simay Kulakceken to book her place in the main draw, where Germany’s Irene Ivancan ended adventures.
Butterfly 2014 Canadian Junior and Cadet Open
Equally, at last year’s Butterfly 2014 Canadian Junior and Cadet Open, both impressed.
Notably Angela Guan was the runner up in the Junior Girls’ Singles event, beaten by Prachi Jha in the final, having at the quarterfinal stage accounted for Amy Wang and one round later Canada’s top seeded, Anqi Luo.
Meanwhile, in the Cadet Girls’ Singles event, Amy Wang reached the quarterfinal stage, losing to the champion elect, Crystal Wang also from the United States, a player who like Angela Guan and Amy Wang is a name to note in Markham.
ITTF Cadet Challenge
Absent from the international scene in recent months and thus no current World Ranking, she was most impressive at the 2014 ITTF Cadet Challenge in Barbados.
Lining up alongside Amy Wang and the Canadian duo of Justina Yeung and Ivy Liao, all present for the 2015 Canadian Junior and Cadet Open, she led North America to bronze in the Girls’ Team event.
Notably, later in the Girls’ Singles event, she progressed to the quarter-final stage where Romania’s Adina Diacionu ended adventures.
An impressive effort from Crystal Wang in Barbados, as was that of Amy Wang; having earlier in the year win the Girls’ Singles event at the ITTF Hopes Challenge in Slovenia, she finished in 17th place in the Girls’ Singles event in the Caribbean island.
Next Challenge
Now in Markham another challenge awaits; in recent times they have caught the eye, in Markham they may well do the same once more.
The name of Angela Guan, Crystal Wang and Amy Wang are names to note.
