ITTF Pan Am Junior Championship: Recap
(By Steve Hopkins/Photo courtesy of USATT)
The ITTF Pan American Junior Championship has concluded in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The event brought just over 100 of the most talented junior players in this hemisphere to compete in two team events (Boys’ and Girls’ Teams), two singles events (Boys and Girls Singles), and three doubles events (Boys and Girls Doubles, and Mixed Doubles).
TEAM USA WINS BOTH TEAM EVENTS
TeamUSA swept the team events. The TeamUSA Boys, represented by Kanak Jha, Sharon Alguetti, Nikhil Kumar, and Tio Nicholas faced Argentina in the final. Argentina’s Bentancor came back from down 0-2 to pull out a 3-2 win over USA’s Nichola Tio in the first match. However, Team USA was dominant from that point forward with Jha winning twice and Alguetti winning once to seal a 3-1 win for the Americans’ Boys team.
The USA girls were represented by Rachel Sung, Amy Wang, Crystal Wang, and Rachel Yang. They defeated the Canadians in the final. Canada’s Ivy Liao logged the first match for Canada with a 3-2 win over Amy Wang. The next three matches, however, went to the Americans sealing the 3-1 team victory.
AMERICAN DOUBLES SWEEP
TeamUSA swept all three doubles events. Boys Doubles was an ALL-USA event as the two American pairs both advanced to the finals with Alguetti and Jha winning over Kumar and Tio. Girls Doubles was also an All-USA affair as the American team of Sung and Yang defeated the American team of Wang and Wang. And, finally, Mixed doubles also featured an all-American final with Jha and Wang defeating Tio and Sung.
TEAM USA BOYS FINISH FIRST AND SECOND IN SINGLES
Kanak Jha and Sharon Alguetti were seeded first and second in the Boys Singles event and each moved through their half of the draw undefeated. Jha dominated with four 4-0 wins to reach the final. Alguetti was dominant as well, with 4-0, 4-1, 4-2, and 4-2 wins. The final was Kanak Jha over Sharon Alguetti for the Pan Am Boys Singles title (4-0).
TEAM USA GIRLS SINGLES
Of the four American entrants in Girls Singles, all four won at least two matches and advanced to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, Amy Wang defeated Canada’s Isabelle Xiong 4-1, Rachel Yang fell to Brazil’s Bruna Takahashi 4-0, Crystal Wang defeated Canada’s Ivy Liao 4-1, and Rachel Sung fell to Puerto Rico’s Adriana Diaz 4-0. In the semifinals, USA’s Amy Wang defeated Brazil’s Takahashi and Puerto Rico’s Adriana Diaz defeated USA’s Crystal Wang. This matched the top two seeds in the event against each other in the final. Ultimately Adriana Diaz outlasted Amy Wang, winning 4-3 and bringing the title home for Puerto Rico.
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