Training at Koping, Sweden and 2004 Safir International Tournament

Orebro, Sweden · February 14-22, 2004

The U.S. Junior Girls’ Team

By Masaaki Tajima, Junior Girls’ Coach   

All photos by Katherine Wu, except when she's in the picture, in which case photos by Katherine's camera, ©2004.

Adam, Katherine, Han	Misha, Whitney, Katherine, Canada's Pierre-Luc Hinse, Lani, Laura	Misha (front), Sophia (back), Han, Whitney, Katherine

The 2004 Safir International Tournament and the second World Junior Circuit were held at the quaint city of Orebro, Sweden. The girl’s team consisted of Whitney Ping, Katherine Wu, Sophia Yi and Lani Lei. I included Laura Leach, who is not officially on this U.S. Team, as part of our team since she was here in Sweden training, and allocated some time for her.

I have never been to Europe so I was looking forward to it but with some trepidation so I asked the assistance of Whitney Ping as an advisor since she had traveled and competed there before and knew the turf. One of the things she advised was to prepare for freezing weather –  but when we got there, the weather was very nice and even sunny at times, so the brief walk from our hotel to the playing hall was refreshing and pleasant.

Our itinerary called for those who lived on the West Coast to meet in Chicago during a connecting flight to Stockholm and meet the others there. Dennis Davis (the boys’ coach), Misha Kazantsev, Auria Malek and myself left San Francisco for Chicago, Whitney Ping from Portland, while Lani Lei and Sophia Yi left from Los Angeles. Adam Hugh, Katherine Wu and Han Xiao flew from Washington D.C. to Stockholm.

In these times, post 9/11, anytime you fly, you need to be prepared for some problems and the first one occurred when Lani didn’t show on time for our connecting flight in Chicago to Stockholm.  I immediately started a contingency plan with the flight clerk, Dennis and Whitney, and decided to leave Whitney, who had been there before, behind for Lani because there was concern about whether Lani could handle international travel alone. We decided I would be the wrong choice to stay behind since it would be a case of the blind leading the blind. But as the door was closing, there she came. She just had a delay in her flight. All was well and I was impressed with the service of Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), for now. Bigger problems will be mentioned later in the article.

When we arrived in Stockholm, a Koping staff member was there to take us to Koping, which took about two hours. The drive through the countryside reminded me of Vermont in winter. The hotel where we stayed was old, small but clean. The food, well, the breakfast and lunch was fine, but dinner was very limited and in need of review. 

The training hall at Koping is every coach’s dream; Taraflex type floor, excellent lighting, 24 tables, lockers, showers, massage room, etc. But the training was more practice then actual training. I would have liked to have been able to spend more time with our team, but understandably the hall was packed with players from around the world preparing for the tournament so there were little to no time for personal attention.

Although the Swedish coaches were very open to requests, I decided protocol should take its course and I would mostly watch and observe.

Katherine, Whitney	The Playing Hall	Canada's Pierre-Luc Hinse,  Adam, Han, Auria, Whitney

After four days of practice, we arrived at Orebro for the Safir Tournament on the 17^th and stayed at the first rate Radisson Hotel where every aspect of service was outstanding. Being also in the hospitality industry besides coaching, the excellent service was an added pleasure.

I held a pre tournament meeting after dinner to set the direction and my expectations for the events to come. The direction was for them to play loose but with concentration, free but focused. The expectation was to seize the moment, fight hard and learn from the experience; even without China and Korean juniors attending, with 655 players representing 37 countries and 100 clubs, I knew the competition would be tough but welcomed. And Dennis Davis and I decided to coach each other’s team to better utilize our time since the Boys’ and Girls’ events sometimes started separately.The first day of competition was Junior Girls’ Doubles. Interestingly, the night we arrived, at the meeting of delegates and official representatives from various countries and clubs to get details of the format and draws, I discovered that Whiney and Sophia were paired as #1 for the U.S., and Lani and Katherine as #2. This I needed to change because I felt Whitney and Katherine would be a better combination and have the best chance to advance and carry our flag, but they were very reluctant since this was the order they received from our association. We had to approach the tournament director and committee to get it changed and got the approval confirmation the next morning.

The format for doubles was single elimination with 31 teams and this combination worked better than expected. After dispatching a team from Oceania three straight, we nearly and should have beaten the #2 seeded Japanese team, which went to the final. Leading them 2-1 in matches in the best of five, we had them match point twice in the fourth but could not convert, and lost 11-8 in the fifth. Both Whitney and Katherine played some outstanding points with Katherine making away from the table counters, a style that is not her but is necessary in doubles.

It was interesting to see the Japanese coach, who was next to me, become jittery and turn red at the prospect of a looming loss.

In Junior Girls’ Singles, the players were grouped into 4-5 player round robins (15 groups), with matches best of seven games, with the top two from each advancing to the Knock-Out Stage (Single Elimination).  Whitney, with her 2300+ level, was the lone U.S. girl to advance to the Knock-Out Stage where she defeated Lauri Pang of France, in a grueling 11-9 in the seventh thriller, a player Whitney had lost to at the World Junior Tournament in Santiago, Chile last year. Whitney lost in the next round of 16, to Zeina Shaban from Jordan in six games that again could have gone either way.

In the Women’s Singles Elite event, all players except directly qualified seeded players played in 4-5 player round robin groups, best of five games (there were 20 groups), with the top two advancing to the Knock-Out Stage. Whitney won all her matches, including an upset win over Janne Jensen of Denmark (the top seed in her group), and again was the lone U.S. player to advance in this premier event. Others were overmatched but they fought hard and some made an impression in their groups. Sophia, who impressed me at practice in Koping, started off poorly but as the tournament progressed, she started flowing better with her chopping game. In her group, she lost all her matches but they were all close, and she lost in four games to the top-seeded Polish player, Marta Smetek, in a match that could have gone either way.

Whitney, Zeina Shaban of Jordan, Katherine	Sophie Shu of New Zealand,  Whitney, Katherine	Misha gets help with zipper from  Coach Masaaki

In the first round of the Knock-Out stage, Whitney beat Japan’s tough pips-on-the-backhand Ayae Yamazaki. Earlier I had watched Yamazaki play and thought she would be too strong for Whitney, but she rose to the occasion, and won 11-8 in the fifth after losing the first two games at 9 and 9. In the next round of 32, she lost to the #2 seed and eventual winner of the tournament, Li Fen, 8, 8, and 7.  Afterwards, I wondered what could have been, the irony and fate of the draw; Li Fen from China, playing for Lyckeby BTK club, easily beat Laurie Pang in the final who was placed in the top half of the draw, 3, 4, 2. As noted earlier, Whitney beat Pang in Junior Girls’ Singles.

In the Women’s Singles Class 1 event, Whitney continued to play well and perhaps had her best chance of winning an event. She got to the round of 16 and lost to Joanna Parker of England, who went on to the final, in four games. Joanna is a tough chopper/attacker who can pick hit and counter weak loops. Whitney is usually very good against defensive players but by this time, with matches being called without a break, she looked fatigued. At this level, you need to be in top-notch shape, both mentally and physically, especially against choppers.

Our other girls didn’t fare as well as they were heavily outgunned, but nevertheless, they fought hard and created some upsets and we should be proud of them. If we had the opportunity to train together as a team like most other countries for international events like this, I know we could do better.

Our return flight to the U.S. was not as smooth as leaving. Katherine lost her return ticket and during the process of reissuing another, we found her and Han Xiao’s return ticket had been cancelled for some unknown reason. Then Sophia’s name on the ticket and her passport didn’t match and the SAS agent refused to allow her to go on without purchasing a new ticket even though she was allowed to get on SAS when leaving the U.S. Then they lost our luggage somewhere between Stockholm and Chicago, and I didn’t get my luggage until three days later.  My patience was tested.

Aside from the outstanding performance of our girls, and my patience being tested, the biggest impression I got from my experience was the atmosphere of relaxed but focused attitude or approach from the players to the organizers. The venue was old and the court cramped but efficiently run. Every table was umpired not by suited officials but primarily kids as young as 10 years old, who did a fantastic job. Sportsmanship and camaraderie was everywhere. And I saw no players overtly using illegal serves or coaches arguing calls. There were no overbearing parents yelling at their kids and no officials came to glorify their positions. The tournament was for the players. 

USA Results

Women’s Elite Singles

Preliminaries

·        Whitney Ping, 3-0 (d. Cecillia Lundstrom, SWE, 11,5,5; d. Janne Jensen, DEN, -9,9,10,7; d. Gea Gross, EST, 6,5,8). Advances to main draw.

·        Katherine Wu, 1-2 (d. Daria Roussetskaia, SWE, 5,6,2; lost to Marina Servouija, SWE, 9,7,8; lost to Natalia Partyka, POL, 7,4,4).

·        Lani Lei, 1-2 (d. Shriti Jeet, FIJ, 2,2,5; lost to Chika Moramori, JPN, 4,8,-13,2; lost to Caroline Wersall, SWE, 10,5,5).

·        Sophia Yi, 0-3 (lost to Yvonne Rinkeholt, SWE, 8,10,7; lost to Marta Smeteck, POL, 7,-11,9,3; lost to Jenny Mellstrom, SWE, -5,-9,9,11,8).

·        Laura Leach, 0-3 (lost to Dieniouma Coulibaly, FRA, 6,8,10; lost to Ganna Farladanska, SWE, 3,-7,7,-9,6; lost to Kajsa Andersson, SWE, 2,-3,8,8).

Round One (round of 64)

·        Whitney Ping, USA, d. Ayae Yamazaki, JPN, -9,-9,9,6,8.

Round Two (round of 32)

·        L. Fen, SWE, d. Whitney Ping, USA, 8,8,7.

Women’s Class 1 Singles

Round One (round of 128)

·        Whitney Ping, USA, d. Lill Kristin Wennberg, NOR, -10,4,8,8.

·        Lani Lei, USA, d. Jonna Andersson, SWE, 6,-2,8,10.

·        Sophia Yi, USA, d. Sanja Paukovic, CRO, def.

·        M. Kindgren, SWE, d. Katherine Wu, USA, 8,8,-5,8.

·        K. Axen, SWE, d. Laura Leach, USA, 8,7,8.

Round Two (round of 64)

·        Whitney Ping, USA, d. E. Andersson, SWE, 7,-9,2,6.

·        Sophia Yi, USA, d. E. Bjarenfall, SWE, 9,12,-6,8.

·        C. Moramori, JPN, d. Lani Lei, USA, 5,6,4.

Round Three (round of 32)

·        Whitney Ping, USA, d. G. Solopova, SWE, 8,6,-9,-8,7.

·        C. Lindwall, SWE, d. Sophia Yi, USA, -4,10,10,-9,9.

Round Four (round of 16)

·        J. Parker, ENG, d. Whitney Ping, USA, -7,4,6,7.

Under 18 Girls’ Singles

Preliminaries

·        Whitney Ping, 3-1 (d. Cecilia Lunstrom, SWE, 7,-7,7,8,11; d. Sophia Shu, NZL, 8,6,6,5; d. Lauren Springthorpe, ENG, 5,6,8,9; lost to Natalia Partyka, POL, 7,-13,9,8,-11,7). Advances to main draw.

·        Lani Lei, 1-2 (d. Gabriella Vinci, BEL, -6,7,3,9,6; lost to Nozomi Hasama, JPN, 5,6,4,4; lost to Marie Persson, SWE, 7,3,-8,8,6).

·        Laura Leach, 0-3 (lost to Emely Ingves, SWE, 7,5,5,4; lost to Kelly Sibley, ENG, 10,8,6,9; lost to Mie Skov, DEN, 8,11,4,-5,2).

·        Katherine Wu, 0-3 (lost to Marina Shavirina, 15,2,9,8; lost to Marta Smetek, POL, 5,8,11,6; lost to Claire Campbell-Innes, AUS, 5,8,8,7).

·        Sophia Dan Dan Yi, 0-3 (lost to Natalia Bak, POL, 7,11,9,4; lost to Caroline Wersall, SWE, -9,6,6,5,8; lost to Anastasia Kashina, RUS, 8,7,11,3).

Round One (round of 32)

·        Whitney Ping, USA, d. Pang Phai, FRA, 5,-9,-6,8,-6,4,9.

Round Two (round of 16)

·        Zeina Shaban, JOR, d. Whitney Ping, USA, -8,9,6,-12,9,7.

Under 18 Girls’ Doubles

Round One (round of 32)

·        Whitney Ping/Katherine Wu, USA, d. S. Jeet/C. Sam, FIJ/TAH, 3,8,6.

·        A. Kashina/D. Rusetskaya, RUS, d. Sophia Yi/Lani Lei, USA, -4,9,8,8.

·        M. Persson/J. Mellstrom, SWE, d. Laura Leach/G. Gross, USA/EST, 3,5,-10,8.

Round Two (round of 16)

·        N. Hasama/S. Ono, JPN, d. Whitney Ping/Katherine Wu, USA, 9,-4,-10,13,8.

Men’s Elite Singles

Preliminaries

·        Adam Hugh, 1-2 (d. Kim Nylander, SWE, 11,9,-7,-9,9; lost to Vallot Vainula, SWE, 8,3,8; lost to Xianjian Meng, SWE, 4,1,5).

·        Han Xiao, 1-2 (d. Piotr Chmiel, POL, -10,7,7,8; lost to Zhan Yan Estovs, SWE, 3,-3,7,-14,11; lost to Vazdas Martinkus, SWE, -7,-5,8,11,9).

·        Misha Kazantsev, 1-2 (d. David Lundeteg, SWE, -9,9,3,7; lost to Joji Yamashiro, JPN, 5,8,8; lost to Tomas Dahlstrom, SWE, 4,-5,4,-11,7).

·        John Leach, 1-2 (d. Joakim Lindstrom, SWE, 10,-4,12,8; lost to Aron Andersson, SWE, 3,6,9; lost to Tao Feng, CHN, 2,10,8).

·        Auria Malek, 0-3 (lost to Marc Duran, ESP, -12,10,9,4; lost to Niklas Gustavsson, SWE, 19,-4,-3,8,10; lost to Alexander Smirnov, SWE, -7,8,7,6).

Men’s Class 1 Singles

Round One (round of 256)

·        Byes: Adam Hugh, Han Xiao, Auria Malek.

·        Misha Kazantsev, USA, d. Shiko Maehara, JPN, -12,7,9,6.

·        Fabian Akerstrom, SWE, d. John Leach, USA, 4,13,2.

Round Two (round of 128)

·        Misha Kazantsev, USA, d. M. Jansson, SWE, def.

·        D. Joset, SWI, d. Auria Malek, USA, 7,9,10.

·        Y. Arimoto, JPN, d. Han Xiao, USA, -11,-7,6,9,5.

·        C. Wolfensberger, SWI, d. Adam Hugh, USA, 9,-5,9,19(!).

Round Three (round of 64)

·        M. Freitas, POR, d. Misha Kazantsev, USA, 2,5,6.

Under 18 Boys’ Singles

Preliminaries

·        Han Xiao, 2-1 (d. Gavin Evans, ENG, 9,-8,4,-9,7,9; d. Erik Pettersson, SWE, 4,-8,9,-4,4,-7,6; lost to Claus Rasmussen, DEN, 13,-7,5,12,6). Advances to main draw.

·        Adam Hugh, 2-1 (d. Maxime Lagneaux, BEL, -9,8,-9,5,5,1; d. David Hinderson, DEN, 9,5,8,5; lost to Maciej Pietkiewicz, POL, 8,-8,4,9,4). Advances to main draw.

·        Misha Kazantsev, 0-3 (lost to Jani Jormanainen, FIN, 8,-8,6,-6,-7,7,6; lost to Artur Grigoriev, RUS, 6,10,7,7; lost to Piotr Chmiel, POL, -8,9,10,8,1).

·        Auria Malek, 0-3 (lost to Niklas Ronningborn, SWE, 11,6,7,3; lost to Binbin Zhu, NZL, 10,-8,8,-5,-10,8,9; lost to Pierre-Luc Hinse, CAN, -9,8,10,10,4).

Round One (round of 64)

·        Tomislav Kolarek, HRV, d. Han Xiao, USA, -4,6,9,-6,4,9.

·        Fabian Akerstrom, SWE, d. Adam Hugh, USA, -10,5,9,5,8.

Under 18 Boys’ Doubles

Round One (round of 64)

·        T. Tamminen/J. Jormanainen, FIN, d. Adam Hugh/Han Xiao, USA, 10,7,7.

·        B. Rogiers/M. Lagneaux, BEL, d. Misha Kazantsev/Auria Malek, USA, 6,0,9.