Seeking Repeat Success, Japan Heads List on European Return
2016 Portugal Junior and Cadet Open
Courtesy of ITTF
Successful on the visit to Europe in February, Japan heads the list in both the Junior Boys’ Singles and Junior Girls’ Singles events at the 2016 Portugal Junior and Cadet Open.
Play starts in the five day tournament, to be staged in Vilanova de Gaia, on Wednesday April 27th.
Yukiya Uda, Koyo Kanamitsu and Yu Kayama head the boys’ list, for the girls it is Miyu Nagasaki, Kana Takeuchi and Yuko Kato. All are players who have enjoyed success on this year’s ITTF World Junior Circuit.
Won in Czech Republic
Currently Yukiya Uda, 14 years old, is listed at no.2 (1,670 points) on the ITTF World Junior Circuit Boys’ Standings and at no.15 on the Under 18 Boys’ World Rankings.
Three appearances to date on the 2016 ITTF World Junior Circuit, he won in the Czech Republic, before in both France and Sweden not being able to replicate the form enjoyed in the first tournament of the year.
He was beaten in the opening round in France, in the second round in Sweden.
Worthy Adversaries
A title for Yukiya Uda; as yet this year such an accolade has not been achieved by Koyo Kanamitsu or by Yu Kayama but both have proved themselves most worthy adversaries.
Koyo Kanamitsu reached the quarterfinal stage of the Junior Boys’ Singles event in France, after having progressed to the third round in the Czech Republic.
Similar
It is somewhat similar for Yu Kayama, he was the runner up in Sweden, having the previous week in France not enjoyed the best of fortunes when experiencing an opening round defeat.
Presently 15 year old Koyo Kanamitsu is named at no.24 on the Under 18 World Rankings, Yu Kayama, 14 years of age, is one place lower at no.25; on the Standings, Yu Kayama is at no.5 (1,355 points), Koyo Kanamitsu at no.16 (860 points).
Higher Level of Success
Success for the leading male Japanese players on duty in Vilanova de Gaia; for the girls, the level of success is even greater.
Yuko Kato is the most successful female player on this year’s ITTF Junior Circuit, a semi-finalist in the Czech Republic, later she won in both France and Sweden; listed at no.22 on the current Under 18 Girls’ World Rankings, Yuko Kato heads the Standings (3,410 points).
Enjoyed Success
Equally both Miyu Nagasaki and Kana Takeuchi have enjoyed a high success rate on the 2016 ITTF World Junior Circuit.
Kana Takeuchi won in the Czech Republic, before in France reaching the third round of the Junior Girls’ Singles event and semi-finals in Sweden.
Reached Latter Stages
Meanwhile, for Miyu Nagasaki, no ITTF Junior Circuit Girls’ Singles title has been procured but in all three tournaments, in which she has competed, she has reached the latter stages.
In the Czech Republic she was beaten by Romania’s Adina Diaconu at the quarterfinal stage, in both France and Sweden Yuko Kato proved her nemesis; in France in the round of the last eight, in Sweden at the semi-final stage.
On the Under 18 Girls’ World Rankings, Miyu Nagasaki is listed at no.17, Kana Takeuchi one place lower at no.18; on the ITTF World Junior Circuit Girls’ Standings, Miyu Nagasaki is at no.5 (1,630 points), Kana Takeuchi three places higher at no.2 (2,290 points).
Completing Top Eight Names
Germany’s Jonah Schlie, competing in his first ITTF World Junior Circuit tournament of the year, completes the top four names in the Junior Boys’ Singles event, in the counterpart Junior Girls’ Singles competition it is the host nation’s Marta Santos.
Further down the order Aoto Asazu and Takeru Kashiwa, also from Japan, in addition to Germany’s Tom Eise and Portugal’s Paulo Silva are the next boys in the pecking order; for the girls it is Portugal’s Raquel Andrade, India’s Selena Selvakumar, Raquel Martins, also from Portugal and Lithuania’s Aiste Dervinyhe.
Schedule
The schedule commences with the Junior Boys’ Singles and Junior Girls’ Singles events.
Visit the official 2016 Portugal Junior and Cadet Open competition page for complete results & coverage.
