Hong Kong emerged as the surprise winners of the Junior Girls’ Team event at the French Junior and Cadet Open in Metz on Saturday 9^th March 2013.

Occupying the no.8 seeded position in the draw, the trio formed by Lam Yee Lok, Mak Tze Wing and Minnie Soo Wai Yam, excelled all expectations to complete proceedings standing proudly on the top step of the medal podium.

The victors over the top seeded Romanian trio of Bernadett Balint, Adina Diaconu and Irina Ciobanu in the group stage of proceedings one day earlier; Lam Yee Lok, Mak Tze Wing and Minnie Soo Wai Yam maintained the form displayed one day earlier.

Good Start
In their opening contest on the fourth day of play, they posted a three-nil win against the sixth seeded Serbian outfit formed by Aneta Maksuti, Viktoria Truzsinski and Anna Fenyvesi, before recording full distance five match victories in both the semi-finals and final.

Star Player
Star of the show was 16 year old Lam Yee Lok, who remained unbeaten throughout the whole event.

In the semi-final against Japan, the no.7 seeds, she overcame Rira Ishikawa (9-11, 11-5, 11-5, 12-10) to record her third win in the space of two weeks against the 15 year old left hander. She had beaten Rira Ishikawa in the Junior Girls’ Singles final in Italy and in the second round of the same event in Metz.

Thrilling Contest
Success over Rira Ishikawa but it was the next success that was to prove crucial; with the scores in the fixture level at two matches apiece, Lam Yee Lok became the toast of Hong Kong.

She recovered from a two games to one deficit to beat Ayane Morita, the winner of the Junior Girls’ Singles title two days earlier, to secure a thrilling victory for the Asian visitors.

Maintaining her nerve and focus, she overcame Ayane Morita by the minimal two point margin in the deciding game (5-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-8, 12-10).

Again the Heroine
A place in the final booked; once again in the gold medal contest against Germany ‘A’, the no.3 seeds, Lam Yee Lok had to play when the overall score in the contest was tied at two-all.

However, on this occasion life was not quite so dramatic; having beaten Nina Mittelham (11-9, 11-7, 11-9) in the open duel, she accounted for Theresa Kraft in the concluding contest in four games (11-7, 11-6, 11-13, 15-13).

Remaining Wins
The remaining wins both came from Minnie Soo Wai Yam; against Japan she overcame Rira Ishikawa (11-7, 1-11, 13-11, 11-6), before in opposition to Germany defeating Theresa Kraft (9-11, 11-5, 11-6, 14-12).

Meanwhile, for Japan, Ayane Morita beat Minnie Soo Wai Yam (11-8, 11-7, 13-11) and Kana Takeuchi defeated Lam Yee Lok (11-5, 11-3, 13-11); for Germany ‘A’, Yuko Imamura overcame Mak Tze Wing (11-5, 7-11, 11-3, 11-5) and Nina Mittelham defeated Minnie Soo Wai Yam (8-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-9).

Close Semi-Final Duel
Two exacting fixtures for Hong Kong; for Germany ‘A’ at the semi-final stage it was just as exacting against their compatriots, Germany ‘B’.

After accounting for the France ‘B’ Team of Pauline Chasselin, Marion Chomis and Roza Soposki by three matches to nil; they were stretched to the limit when facing the trio comprising Alena Lemmer, Chantal Mantz and Wang Yuan.

Backbone of Victory
Mainstay of the victory was Nina Mittelham, who beat both Wan Yuan (11-8, 11-13, 11-5, 11-5) and, in the crucial concluding match of the fixture, Alena Lemmer (11-6, 11-8, 5-11, 11-6).

The one further success for the victors was recorded by Theresa Kraft in opposition to Wan Yuan (15-13, 11-5, 11-7).

Meanwhile, for the vanquished, Alena Lemmer overcame Theresa Kraft in the second match of the contest (8-11, 11-7, 11-9, 5-11, 11-7) before in the very next duel, Chantal Mantz defeated Yuko Imamura (11-4, 11-9, 7-11, 8-11, 11-8).

Article by: ITTF - Ian Marshall

Photo by: Jean-Denis Beucher