A former member of the ITTF World Hopes Team, Vaness Leung Tsz Ching was the shining star for the host association on the third day of play, Friday 9th August 2013, at the Nikon Hong Kong Junior and Cadet Open.

Now 14 years old, she concluded her first phase of matches in the group stage of proceedings in the Cadet Girls' Singles event in first place, causing an upset of note on route to pole position.

She beat Brazil's Bruna Takahashi, the no.9 seed, likewise a former ITTF World Hopes Team member, in four games (11-8, 11-9, 8-11, 11-9), before concluding her schedule of matches with victory over Chinese Taipei's Chiang Chih-Wei (11-4, 11-7, 10-12, 11-4).

Place in Main Draw
The consolation for Bruna Takahashi was that she secured second place in the group, overcoming Chiang Chih-Wei in the opening match in the group in three straight games (11-6, 11-3, 11-7).

Raised Eyebrows
An unexpected success for Vaness Leung Tsz Ching and there was one more win by a local player in the Cadet Girls' Singles event that raised the eyebrows.

Ellie Fong, 13 years old, beat Singapore's Ang Wan Qi, the no.6 seed, in her opening contest in five games (11-9, 11-6, 9-11, 5-11, 11-5); but she had to settle for third place the group and no berth in the main draw.

Ang Wan Qi recovered to overcome Chinese Taipei's Liang Yu-Chien in four games (11-6, 11-8, 13-15, 11-7); before, in the concluding match in the group, Ellie Fong suffered a four games defeat at the hands of Liang Yu-Chien (8-11, 11-0, 11-7, 11-5). 

The end result was that on games ratio it was first place in the group for Ang Wan Qi (5:4), second place for Liang Yu-Chien (4:4) and third spot for Ellie Fong (4:5). 

Two Defeats
Two unexpected wins for Hong Kong; conversely there were two unexpected defeats in the first phase of the Cadet Girls' Singles event.

Liu Qi, the no.10 seed, after beating Singapore's Hannah Lau En Ian (11-4, 11-9, 11-5) was beaten by Chinese Taipei's Lee En-Chi (5-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-6). Lee En-Chi duly finished in first place in the group, she overcame Hannah Lau En Ian in four games (9-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-4).

Second Place in Group
Second position in the group but with players finishing in first and second places in each group progressing to the main draw, it meant Liu Qi progressed to the second stage.
It was the same scenario for Lee Ka Yee.

She overcame colleague Wong Chin-Yau (11-4, 3-11, 11-4, 7-11, 11-4) before losing to Chinese Taipei's Chen Ting-Ting (9-11, 11-5, 13-11, 11-3); however, she soon recovered from the defeat and concluded her group stage matches with victory over Singapore's Or Zann Yii (11-4, 11-8, 11-5).

Chen Ting-Ting duly topped the group; she accounted for Or Zann Yii (11-6, 11-6, 11-7) and Wong Chin-Yau (11-7, 8-11, 11-4, 11-3).

Pole Position
A place in the main draw for Lee Ka Yee as it was for her colleagues, Minnie Soo Wai Yam and Mak Tze Wing, the respective first and third seeds; they remained unbeaten to finish in first place in their respective groups.

Similarly, it was first place in the group for Brazil's Leticia Nakada, the no.4 seed, as it was for the Chinese Taipei duo of Lee Yu-Peng and Tsai Yu-Chen, the respective seventh and eighth seeds.

Fifth Seeds Falls
However, that was not the situation for Japan's Yuko Kato, the no.5 seed.

She beat Hong's Desiree Hung in her opening match (11-8, 11-3, 11-6) but then suffered defeat at the hands of Chinese Taipei's Su Pei-Lung (11-6, 11-7, 11-9). Su Pei-Lung duly topped the group, she accounted for Desiree Hung in three straight games (11-7, 11-8, 11-9).

Top Eight Top Groups
Upsets involving the leading players in the Cadet Girls' Singles event but none in the counterpart Cadet Boys' Singles event where the top eight names all remained unbeaten to finish in first places in their respective groups.

It was a successful day for Huang Chien-Tu (Chinese Taipei), Hung Ka Tak (Hong Kong), Yu Chen-Feng (Chinese Taipei), Omid Khoshbakht (Sweden), Tang Cheng-Yen (Chinese Taipei), Kwan Man Ho (Hong Kong), Adam Blomqvist (Sweden) and Li Yun-Ju (Chinese Taipei).

Live on YouTube and Exciting on FlickR
The final session of play at the Nikon Hong Junior and Cadet Open will be streamed live on YouTube between 2.00pm and 5.30pm local time. Also visit the FlickR Gallery for photographs of the event. 

Nikon Hong Junior and Cadet Open: The Final Session of Play 
Nikon Hong Junior and Cadet Open: Photo Gallery on FlickR 

Article By: ITTF - Ian Marshall

Photo By:  Patrick Wong