Team Competition Comes to a Close at World Junior Table Tennis Championships

Bratislava, Slovak Republic - 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.  Out of contention for the overall championship, each had just one team match for final placement on Tuesday. 

After defeating Australia in Monday’s action, the US Boys’ team faced Paraguay for 17th position in a rematch of their first stage match in which the US came out on top, 3-1.  It was an exciting battle as the first three matches went to a decisive fifth game.  Alexander Yao (Chesterfield, Mo.) started things off for the US with a win over Axel Gavilan.  Yahao Zhang (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) and Charles Deng (Katy, Texas) both fell just short against Marcelo Aguirre and Santiago Osorio, respectively.  Aguirre notched his second win of the match for Paraguay and closed out the match with a three-game win over Yao.  The loss put the US Boys’ team in 18th position in the final standings.  Now the players set their sites on the individual competitions which began on Tuesday.

The US Girls’ were able to end their tournament on a high note with a victory over the host nation in their final team match of the tournament.  Lily Zhang (Palo Alto, Calif.) once again anchored the US with wins to open the match and to close it out over the Slovak Republic’s Eva Jerkova and Maria Krazelova, respectively.  Sandwiched in-between Zhang’s wins were Erica Wu’s (Arcadia, Calif.) victory over Krazelova and Prachi Jha’s (Milpitas, Calif.) loss to Barbora Balazova.  With the win, the US Girls’ finished the tournament in 15th position as they too shift their focus to the individual competition.

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: Tuesday December 7, 2010
2010 ITTF World Junior Table Tennis Championships
Bratislava, Slovak Republic - December 4-11

Boys 2nd Stage: USA vs. Paraguay
Alexander Yao (USA) def. Axel Gavilan (PAR) 5-11, 13-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-5
Marcelo Aguirre (PAR) def. Yahao Zhang (USA) 6-11, 11-6, 11-9, 7-11, 11-7
Santiago Osorio (PAR) def. Charles Deng (USA) 7-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-6, 11-8
Marcelo Aguirre (PAR) def. Alexander Yao (USA) 11-7, 11-6, 11-5
Final: Paraguay 3 – USA 1

Girls’ 2nd Stage: USA vs. Slovak Republic
Lily Zhang (USA) def. Eva Jurkova (SVK) 11-9, 11-6, 11-7
Erica Wu (USA) def. Maria Krazelova (SVK) 11-5, 11-8, 9-11, 11-3
Barbora Balazova (SVK) def. Prachi Jha (USA) 11-5, 11-2, 11-6
Lily Zhang (USA) def. Maria Krazelova (SVK) 11-8, 11-1, 11-4

Final: USA 3 – Slovak Republic 1