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Hung Tzu-Hsiang retained his Junior
Boys' Singles title in Hammamet
Photo By: Hosni Menoubi
Courtesy of ITTF
Winners earlier in the week of the Junior Boys’ Team title, Chinese Taipei’s Hung Tzu-Hsiang and Huang Chien-Tu added to their list of titles on the concluding day of play, Friday October 12, 2012, at the Tunisian Junior and Cadet Open in Hammamet.
Hung Tzu-Hsiang won the Junior Boys’ Singles event; Huang Chien-Tu secured the top prize in the Cadet Boys’ Singles competition, while together, they emerged as Junior Boys’ Doubles champions.
In all three events it was victory as status predicted; on each occasion they occupied the top seeded place in the draw and for Hung Tzu-Hsiang it was title retained. He won one year ago in 2011.
A Surprise for Huang Chien-Tu
However, there was a surprise.
In the Junior Boys’ Singles event, Huang Chien-Tu, occupying the no.2 seeded position, was beaten in the second round by Spain’s Xavier Peral, the no.5 seed (11-9, 5-11, 7-11, 14-12, 11-0, 11-6); it was the biggest upset of the day.
Progress Short Lived
Alas for the Spaniard, the success was short-lived; he was beaten in the penultimate round by Portugal’s João Geraldo, the no.3 seed (11-7, 11-8, 11-5, 13-11) who, in turn, suffered against Hung Tzu-Hsiang in the final.
Gave Good Account
Nevertheless, the rising 17 year old Portuguese star gave a good account of himself in the final; he extended Hung Tzu-Hsiuang to six games.
The Chinese Taipei teenager won 7-11, 11-8, 13-11, 8-11, 11-5, 11-5.
Straight Games Wins
Two games surrendered in the final but en route to the concluding round, Hung Tzu-Hsiang had recorded straight game victories on each visit to the table in the second stage of proceedings.
In the opening round he overcame Tunisia’s Nadim Ben Mekki (11-5, 11-7, 11-3, 11-2), before accounting for the French duo of Giovanni Bernardi (11-4, 11-8, 11-4, 12-10) and Nicolas Reuseau (11-9, 11-6, 11-9, 11-8).
Xavier Peral caused the biggest upset of the final day
Photo By: Hosni Menoubi
Man in Form
An impressive performance by Hung Tzu-Hsiang, especially against Nicolas Reuseau; he was a man in form.
At the quarter-final stage he upset the pecking order and extinguished the hopes of the host nation by beating Adem Hmam, the no.4 seed (11-7, 6-11, 13-11, 11-8, 11-9).
No Stopping Champion Elect
Defeat for Huang Chien-Tu in the Junior Boys’ Singles event but in the Cadet Boys’ Singles competition there was no stopping the young man from Chinese Taipei.
He beat Qatar’s Mohammed Ali (11-5, 11-2, 11-4), Hugo Batocchi of France (11-4, 11-6, 12-10) and Jassim Al-Sanadi, the no.8 seed and also from Qatar (11-6, 11-6, 10-12, 11-2) to book his place in the final where he confronted Egypt’s Aly Ghallab.
João Geraldo, the Junior Boys’ Singles runner up
Photo By: Hosni Menoubi
Upset Seeding
The win over Jassim Al-Sanadi was a confidence booster.
Jassim Al-Sanadi had upset the seeding in the quarter-finals by defeating Alexis Mommessin of France, the no.4 seed and son of Jacques Mommessin, the coach of the French Junior Boys’ Team in a close five games encounter (11-13, 11-2, 11-8, 8-11, 12-10).
The Final
In the final Huang Chien-Tu was not to be deterred from the task in hand; he overcame Egypt’s Aly Ghallab, the no.2 seed in three straight games (11-7, 11-9, 11-9).
Huang Chien-Tu, the Cadet Boys’ Singles winner
Photo By: Hosni Menoubi
Road to Final
En route to the final, on the concluding day of play, Aly Ghallab had beaten Qatar’s Mohammed Al-Haddad (11-7, 11-5, 11-6), Tunisia’s Mootezz Saadaoui (11-8, 11-9, 11-3) and Nicolas Reuseau of France, the no.3 seed, in a contest where he escaped from the brink of defeat in the fourth game to secure a five games success (15-13, 10-12, 8-11, 13-11, 11-8).
Junior Boys’ Doubles
Success apart, for Huang Chien-Tu and Hung Tzu-Hsiang it was success together in the Junior Boys’ Doubles event.
The clinched the title beating Tunisia’s Adem Hmam and Thameur Mamia in the final, the no.2 seeds (11-5, 11-5, 9-11, 11-8); after having ousted Giovanni Bernadini and Hugo Batocchi of France, the no.3 seeds in the semi-finals (11-1, 11-6, 11-5).
In the counterpart semi-final, Adem Hmam and Thameur Mamia had beaten Spain’s Xavier Peral and Yordi Ramos, the no.4 seeds (11-6, 14-12, 3-11, 6-11, 11-8).
Thameur Mamia (left) and Adem Hmam (right) Junior Boys’ Doubles runners up
Photo By: Hosni Menoubi
Mini Cadet Boys’ Singles
Success for Chinese Taipei in the Cadet Boys’ Singles event, in the Mini Cadet Boys’ Singles it was gold for Qatar. Mohamed Al-Haddad secured first place followed by Egypt’s Abdelrahmam Denden and the host nation’s Mootezz Saadaoui.
More Success
Meanwhile, in the Mini-Cadet Girls’ Singles competition, it was more success for Chinese Taipei.
Tsai Yu-Chin secured the top prize with Poland’s Julia Slazak being the silver medalist and bronze going the way of Egypt’s Sarah Abousseta.
Tsai Yu-Chin, the winner of the Mini Cadet Girls’ Singles title
Photo By: Hosni Menoubi
