HONGTAO CHEN TAKES BRONZE AT THE ITTF GLOBAL JUNIOR CIRCUIT FINALS
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Guatemala City, January 27, 2013
Hongtao Chen, Canada's top Junior player, qualified to the Global Junior Circuit Final in 8th position - his goal for the Global Junior Ciruit Finals that took place in Guatemala City was to improve on that standing. Chen cruised through his round robin competition posting convincing wins against Xavier Peral (Spain) and Chinese Taipei's Huang Chien-Tu. In a battle for top spot in his group, Chen overcame Eric Jouti (Brazil) by a score of 4-3.
From the sixteen players qualified for this competition, eight would move on to compete for the podium. Chen had a difficult draw facing Hong Kong youngster Hung Ka Tak. IN a hard fought six games duel, Chen Hongtao overcame Hong Kong's Hung Ka Tak (11-9, 12-10, 10-12, 7-11, 12-10, 11-8) moving on to the semi-finals.
"Hongtao did not play at his best, but we won," commented Canada's national team Coach Yongjun Duan. "It is difficult to play at this elevation (Guatemala City sits at approx 1500 m sea level), players have to adjust their technique and their timing to keep the ball on the table. I am happy we came here a few days early to adjust to these different conditions," explained Duan.
In the semi-finals Chen met Japanese teenager Masataka Morizono, a fast moving lefty with a power to match his speed. Chen started well and won game 1 by a score of 11-7. Morizono replied with a win of the same score. Game three was probably the decider for this match. The Canadian was leading 9-7 when through some nice rallies the Japanese scored four points in a row to go ahead 2-1. Filled with confidence, Morizono secured the match by winning the next two games 11-8, 11-4.
Morizono went on to win the tournament while Hongtao Chen had to be content with Bronze.
On the girls side, Canada qualified Mississauga's Anqi Luo to the Finals. Nerves got in the way of a top result; she finished 13th.
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