Winner of the Junior Girls’ Singles title at the first ITTF World Junior Circuit Tournament of 2008, the Joola German Junior Open, Romania’s Cristina Hirici collected her second singles’ gold of the year, when on Saturday 15th March, she concluded matters by standing proudly on the top step of the medal podium at the Doha Junior Open in Qatar.

Attacking in typically uninhibited vein and always ready for the challenge, the Romanian teenager ended the brave run of her thirteen year old compatriot, Bernadette Szocs, in the semi-finals before halting the aspirations of the in form Alena Dubkova of Belarus in the final.

Against Bernadette Szocs she recorded a straight games victory whilst in opposition to Alena Dubkova she was thoroughly tested. The match went the full distance with Cristina Hirici maintaining her focus and nerve to succeed in the vital seventh game.


Credit
The final was a credit to both players with Alena Dubkova enjoying some of the best form of her fledgling career; at the semi-final stage she had ousted second seed, Hong Kong’s Lee Ho Ching, in five games.

Defeat at the semi-final stage for Bernadette Szocs but not in the Cadet Girls’ Singles event where she clinched gold.

Traditions Maintained
A young lady surely set to maintain the very highest traditions of Romanian table tennis, she defeated Korea’s Chon Se Eun in the final in a contest that went the full five games distance having one round earlier ended the progress of India’s Nadeen El Dawlatly in straight games.

Meanwhile, in the counterpart semi-final, Cheon Se Eun defeated Korean colleague Bang Jie in three straight games.

More Gold for Romania
Two titles for Romania and there was more.

Andrea Dospina and Camelia Postoaca combined to win the Junior Girls’ Doubles crown succeeding in an all-Romanian final. In the gold medal contest they defeated top seeds, Cristina Hirici and Anamaria Sebe.

Silver medallists were Alena Dubkova and Ala Shakun who suffered at the hands of Cristina Hirici and Anamaria Sebe whilst Hong Kong’s Lee Ho Ching and Ng Wing Nam had been beaten by Andrea Dospina and Camelia Postoaca.

Cadet Girls’ Doubles
Semi-final sadness for Belarus but that was not the situation in the Cadet Girls’ Doubles event where they thwarted Romanian hopes of a full house in the female events.

Katsiaryna Baravok and Yana Drykina emerged as champions beating Romania’s Bernadette Szocs and Andreea Rosco Caloenescu in the semis followed by Egypt’s Nadeen El dawlatly and Galilah Nasser in the final.

At the semi-final stage the Egyptian duo had defeated India’s Mallika Bhandarkar and Shweta Parte.

Articol publicat de Ian Marshall pe pagina oficiala a Federatiei Internationale de Tenis de Masa, www.ittf.com.