Bratislava, Slovak Republic - The first stage of team competition is complete for the US Boys’ and Girls’ National Teams at the 2010 International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Junior Table Tennis Championships held December 4-11 in Bratislava, Slovak Republic.  Each had a chance going into Sunday’s competition to advance, but both the US Boys’ and Girls’ teams narrowly missed out on spots in the main draw.   

After dropping both matches on Saturday against China and Poland, respectively, the US Boys’ team needed to sweep their matches on Sunday in order advance into the main draw.  First up was Paraguay, whom the US were a slight favorite against.  Yahao Zhang (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) anchored the US team with wins against Axel Gavilan, 11-8, 11-4, 11-7, and Marcelo Aguirre, 12-10, 11-9, 13-11, the latter being the clincher for the US.  Charles Deng (Katy, Texas) defeated Santiago Osorio for the third US victory and Alexander Yao (Chesterfield, Mo.) lost a hard fought match to Marcelo Aguirre.

The winner of the boys’ USA vs. India match was guaranteed a spot in the main draw and the loser relegated to playing for positions 13-20.  Things started off well for the US as Zhang continued to play well while showing heart.  He notched a comeback win against Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, 9-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8.  Yao won his first game against Soumyajit Ghosh, 11-6, before dropping the next three, 11-6, 11-7, 11-7, and then Deng and Zhang were defeated in straight games as India closed out the match, 3-1.

After dropping their first match of Sunday 3-0 to Korea, the US Girls’ found themselves in the same must-win situation that the boys’ were in heading into their final match against the Czech Republic.  Lily Zhang (Palo Alto, Calif.) started things off well by defeating Dagmar Blaskova, 11-7, 11-7, 7-11, 11-7.  Prachi Jha (Milpitas, Calif.) played well against Karin Adamkova before succumbing in four games, 11-4, 12-10, 7-11, 11-8, but Kristyna Mikulcova was the difference maker for the Czech Republic.  She defeated both Zhang and Erica Wu (Arcadia, Calif.) to help advance her country into the main draw.

The second stage of team competition begins on Monday.  The US Boys’ Team will compete in the lower bracket against Canada and the US Girls’ face Brazil in their lower bracket as they both jockey for positions 13-20. The tournament is far from over for the US, however, as Monday also marks the start of individual competition in singles, doubles and mixed doubles.  Each US athlete is competing in at least one discipline, with some competing in all three.

About USA Table Tennis: USATT is the national organizing body for table tennis in the United States. Created in 1933 and headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo. Its staff serves the 9,000-plus members and nearly 300 clubs that are affiliated with USATT. It oversees a wide variety of membership services, the national teams, rules of the game and numerous online instructional and historical articles. USATT is governed and run by the nine-member board of directors, committees and professional staff. USATT is affiliated with the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), the world governing body for table tennis, as well as the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).

USA Results: Sunday December 5, 2010
2010 ITTF World Junior Table Tennis Championships
Bratislava, Slovak Republic - December 4-11

Boys 1st Stage: USA vs. Paraguay
Marcelo Aguirre (PAR) def. Alexander Yao (USA) 11-8, 16-14, 11-9
Yahao Zhang (USA) def. Axel Gavilan (PAR) 11-8, 11-4, 11-7
Charles Deng (USA) def. Santiago Osorio (PAR) 11-8, 11-3, 11-8
Yahao Zhang (USA) def. Marcelo Aguirre (PAR) 12-10, 11-9, 13-11
Final: USA 3 – Paraguay 1

Boys’ 1st Stage: USA vs. India
Yahao Zhang (USA) def. Sathiyan Gnanasekaran (IND) 9-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8
Soumyajit Ghosh (IND) def. Alexander Yao (USA) 6-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-7
Harmeet Desai (IND) def. Charles Deng (USA) 11-6, 11-7, 11-7
Soumyajit Ghosh (IND) def. Yahao Zhang (USA) 11-4, 11-4, 11-6
Final: India 3 – USA 1

Girls’ 1st Stage: USA vs. Korea
Yu Jin Jo (KOR) def. Lily Zhang (USA) 11-8, 11-5, 12-10
Ha Eun Yang (KOR) def. Prachi Jha (USA) 11-1, 11-5, 11-7
Eun Chong Yoo (KOR) def. Erica Wu (USA) 11-6, 11-4, 11-3
Final: Korea 3 – USA 0

Girls’ 1st Stage: USA vs. Czech Republic
Lily Zhang (USA) def. Dagmar Blaskova (CZE) 11-7, 11-7, 7-11, 11-7
Kristyna Mikulcova (CZE) def. Erica Wu (USA) 11-5, 11-7, 11-8
Karin Adamkova (CZE) def. Prachi Jha (USA) 11-4, 12-10, 7-11, 11-8
Kristyna Mikulcova (CZE) def. Lily Zhang (USA) 12-10, 11-7, 11-5
Final: Czech Republic 3 – USA