Hong Kong’s Doo Hoi Kem, Chinese Taipei’s Chiu Ssu-Hua, Romania’s Adina Diaconu and Japan’s Miyu Kato emerged successful in the vital determining Girls’ Singles contests at the ITTF 2014 Youth Olympic Games Qualification Tournament in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal on the morning of Thursday 23rd January.

Thus, subject to National Olympic Committee approval, the quartet has booked places in the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games.

Doo Hoi Kem, the no.1 seed, beat Thailand’s Tamolwan Khetkhuan, the no.5 seed (7-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-9, 11-9) to become the first player to reserve her passage to Nanjing.

She was followed by Chiu Ssu-Hua who accounted for Great Britain’s Charlotte Carey (12-10, 11-3, 11-4, 11-4), before Adina Diaconu performed the great escape to beat Poland’s Natalia Bajor (7-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9) and Miyu Kato brought the morning to a conclusion by defeating Canada’s Anqi Luo (11-6, 11-7, 10-12, 11-4, 11-5).

Match of the Morning
Match of the morning was undoubtedly the contest between Adina Diaconu and Natalia Bajor, with the Romania facing the precipice of defeat in both the sixth and seventh games.

In the sixth game Adina Diaconu trailed 3-7 and 7-9 before emerging victorious; in the seventh she was behind 6-9 before winning five points in a row to steal the contest.

“I played badly in the first two games, my tactics were not so good”, said Adina Diaconu. “I tried to play more to the middle as the match progressed.”

Strong Backhand
Natalia Bajor, true to Polish traditions, was very strong from the backhand; time and again the rallies were fearsome and fast backhand exchanges. However, at the crucial stages Adina Diaconu moved better, she was prepared to execute her forehand whilst also displaying a level of maturity beyond her 14 years.

“When I was down in the sixth and seventh game, I just tried to play freely”, added Adina Diaconu. “I had nothing to lose and I could see Natalia was becoming nervous.”

Nervous at Start
Adina Diaconu overcame a slow start; to a slightly lesser extent so did Doo Hoi Kem in the contest that started proceedings. She lost the first game against Tamolwan Khetkhuan.

“I was nervous at the start of the match, I knew that if I could win that I would qualify to play in Nanjing”, said Doo Hoi Kem. “In the first game I was too slow.”

Strong Top Spin Play
Speed may not be the greatest attribute possessed by Doo Hoi Kem but she is very effective when given time execute her top strokes.

“Winning the fourth game was the key to the match; that gave me a two games advantage”, concluded Doo Hoi Kem. “I tried to keep calm even though I lost the first game; certainly winning the fourth game gave me confidence.”

Followed Service with Strong Topspin
Keeping calm was a major reason for the success gained by Doo Hoi Kem; a demeanour that was reflected by her coach sitting courtside, Zhang Rui.

“She followed her service with a strong topspin”, said Zhang Rui. “That is her strength; she is powerful with her attacking play.”

Comfortable
Success for Doo Hoi Kem was followed by success for Chiu Ssu-Hua who most certainly rose to the occasion.

“I felt comfortable today”, said the 17 year old who is very different in style; long pimpled rubber on the backhand, reversed smooth rubber on the forehand makes her a difficult opponent and most certainly made it most difficult for Charlotte Carey to find a rhythm to her play.

“Actually, I had played Charlotte twice before, I had won once, she had won once”, added Chiu Ssu-Hua. “Today my backhand was secure and created opening for me to attack.”

Comfortable
Success for Chiu Ssu-Hua in an impressive manner; it was very much the same for Miyu Kato who brought matters to a conclusion in the Girls’ Singles event.

The young lady from Tokyo was most impressive against a most spirited opponent in the guise of Anqi Luo.

“I was a little nervous before the match”, admitted Miyu Kato. “I think the most important part of the match was that I returned service well.”

Seeding Justified
Success for Miyu Kato, success meant the top four seeds had justified their status; all had booked tickets to Nanjing.

Video : DOO Hoi Kem YOG Qualification Interview