Romania’s Elizabeta Samara, the winner of no less than five Junior Girls’ Singles titles on the ITTF World Junior Circuit and one of the most impressive European players at the recently concluded Liebherr World Championships in Zagreb, is the top seed in the Junior Girls’ Singles event at the Polish Youth Open in Wladyslawowo Centiewo.
It is the eleventh tournament on the ITTF World Junior Circuit this year and commenced on Wednesday 30th May 2007 with the qualification stage of the Boys’ and Girls’ Singles events.


Assured
Elizabeta Samara is assured of a place in the ITTF World Junior Circuit Finals in Cape Town, South Africa in October 2007; it’s just simply a question of how far ahead of the field she will finish.

At the moment she has almost three times as many points as her nearest rival, Russia’s Elena Troshneva andis setting new standards.

Qualification in Doubt
Eight players have received a direct entry to the main draw and an appearance in Cape Town for several of the young female stars on duty in Poland is by no means a foregone conclusion.

Yuka Ishigaki
The second seed in the Junior Girls’ Singles event is Japan’s Yuka Ishigaki, she occupies fourteenth place on the ITTF World Junior Girls’ Standings having made one appearance on the ITTF World Junior Circuit in 2007.

She competed in the Safir International Tournament in Sweden and gave Elizabeta Samara a severe test in the final, she lost by the very narrowest of narrow margins, the top seeded Romanian winning 11-5, 13-11, 4-11, 15-11,11-3, 7-11, 15-13.

At the moment Yuka Ishigaki is in fourteenth place on the ITTF World Junior Circuit Girls’ Standings but whatever happens in Poland she will not be assured of a place in Cape Town. The rising Japanese star will have only played in one continent, in order to qualify for the ITTF World Junior Circuit Finals a player must compete in two continents.

Same Problem
Likewise, the same dilemma faces the number three seed, Germany’s Amelie Solja.

Currently in twenty-first place on the ITTF World Junior Circuit Girls’ Standings she only appeared in one ITTF World Junior Circuit Tournament in 2007, she competed in Spain, losing in the Girls’ Singles final to Elizabeta Samara.

Eyes Focused
Amelie Solja and Yuka Ishigaki will attract attention; nether being the conventional modern day topspin player; the former uses the combination of reversed rubber and long pimples, staying close to the table to upset the rhythm of her opponents, whilst the latter is a classic defender in the mould of Koji Matsushita or Norio Takashima.

However, the player on whom all local eyes will be focused is Natalia Partyka, Poland’s leading girl. Seeded four, she is currently in fifty-fourth place on the ITTF World Junior Circuit Girls’ Singles Standings and if she is to book a place in Cape Town, then a good performance on home soil is vital.

She has made one appearance on the ITTF World Junior Circuit in 2007; she competed in Sweden, losing in the quarters to Lee So Bong of Korea. However, whatever success she may achieve in the Polish Junior Open, she must play in at least one further tournament outside Europe to meet the two continent qualification criteria.

Fifth and Sixth Seeds
It is a similar situation for the fifth and sixth seeded players in the Junior Girls’ Singles event in Poland.

Fifth seed Japan’s Misako Wakamiya is currently in twenty-sixth spot on the Standings; like Natalia Partyka, she has only competed in the Sweden where she suffered at the hands of Elizabeta Samara in the semis. Meanwhile, for sixth seed Ukraine’s Margaryta Pesotska, her appearance in Poland is her first on the ITTF World Junior Circuit in 2007.

Different Story
However, for the seventh and eighth seeded players it is a different story.

Norway’s Ma Wenting is seeded seventh and is currently in the number fifth spot on the ITTF World Junior Girls’ Singles Standings whilst eighth seed, Russia’s Elena Troshneva is in second place.

Ma Wenting
Ma Wenting won the Girls’ Singles crown at the United Arab Emirates Junior Open in April beating Elena Troshneva in the final, whilst in Sweden in February she lost in the quarters to Elizabeta Samara.

Both very creditable performances; however, in her most recent venture on the ITTF World Junior Circuit, the Spanish Youth Open, she suffered an earlier than expected exit. Seeded three, she lost in the opening round to Japan’s Yuki Tanaka.

Elena Troshneva
Meanwhile, for Elena Troshneva, a Junior Girls’ Singles title has proved elusive; consistency has taken her to second place.

In addition to her final appearance in the United Arab Emirates, she reached the same stage at the Doha Junior Open in February losing to Elizabeta Samara whilst in Sweden she suffered in the quarters being beaten by Yuka Ishigaki. Meanwhile, in Spain it was a semi-final exit. She was beaten by Amelie Solja.

Finals
Play commences with the qualification group matches in the singles events, a stage in which the top eight seeds do not participate; the finals will be held on Thursday 31st May 2007.

Articol publicat de Ian Marshall pe site-ul www.ittf.com.