AYG Table Tennis: Isabelle, Clarence and Jit Kiat still in singles competition

Story by Yvonne Yap and Chan Hui Mui/Red Sports. Pictures by Leslie Tan/Red Sports.

Toa Payoh Sports Hall, Saturday, July 4, 2009 – Singapore paddlers Isabelle Li, Clarence Chew and Tay Jit Kiat have progressed to the singles' round of 16, while Chau Hai Qing fell prey to China's top world junior.

Despite having an unlucky draw, Hai Qing put up a commendable fight against Chen. But the latter’s impressive spin shot and agility helped her to win the match 11-3, 11-9, 11-5.

In the opening set, Hai Qing could not find an answer to get past Chen, and the Singaporean’s 3 points were only earned from mistakes made by the Chinese.

Hai Qing improved in the second set and held a 7-4 advantage after leading from the start. But Chen then scored 5 straight, and although Hai Qing managed to draw level at 9-all, Chen scored the final 2 points to take the set 11-9.

In the third set, Hai Qing did well to keep Chen closely in her sights, as the world number 1 only managed to lead 6-4 midway into the set. But Hai Qing could not adapt well to Chen’s playing style, and the Chinese eventually pulled away to take the set 11-5, and the tie as well.

Hai Qing admitted that she was satisfied with her performance. She said, “I think I have played well. I felt honoured to play against her. Her spin and speed were better than mine. My skills are not good enough.”

She added, “I will put in more effort in future trainings to prepare for the Youth Olympic Games.”

Isabelle, on the other hand, had no such tribulations as she eased past Kavind Sahabandu from Sri Lanka in straight sets, 11-5, 11-3, 11-2. Isabelle will be facing Soulmaz Rahman Mohammad Pour in the Round of 16.

Over in the boys’ singles competition, an unseeded Jit Kiat had to go through the round of 64, which Clarence received a bye in. Jit Kiat was first up for his match against Kuwait’s Almkeemy O R Abdulla at 12 noon. Abdulla had lost to Clarence in the Mixed Team group matches 2 days prior to this tie, and was looking to exact revenge.

The first 2 sets were close as both Jit Kiat and Abdulla were hungry for a win. However, Abdulla committed more errors despite making a few good moves in the match, including a fierce smash in the second game while Jit Kiat was struggling to recover after crouching to receive the ball. The Singaporean won the first 2 sets 11-7, 11-9.

Jit Kiat seemed to lose his focus in the third set, and trailed Abdulla throughout the game. He missed shots from Abdulla and had to constantly pause before taking his service, perhaps to visualise what he would next do. He lost the game 9-11 despite coming back to draw level at 9 apiece.

The fourth set saw Jit Kiat coming back to win 11-9 to seal his victory. He displayed some impressive moves in the game, such as changing the direction of play to tire Abdulla.

“Make use of my chances,” Jit Kiat said in Mandarin. He was cheering out loud throughout to match to keep himself calm.

Jit Kiat then faced Bahrain’s Loay Muawadh in the round of 32. Once again, the match was taken to 4 sets. Jit Kiat started the first 2 games trailing 1-3, but calmed his nerves to win the games 11-4, 11-6.

However, he got jittery in the third set again, losing out to Loay 9-11 in another close game. Jit Kiat gathered himself for another rally with Loay in the fourth set, and propelled himself into the round of 16 with a 11-8 win.

“I am a bit tired,” Jit Kiat revealed after the match. The daily competition seemed to have taken its toll on him, as seen in the third set.

Clarence showed a great improvement in his style of play today as he was very calm throughout the match against Macau’s Chao Long Hong. The first set was easily taken 11-5 as Long Hong never posed a threat to Clarence.

His face was a picture of determination as he claimed the second and third sets. Although he was trailing at the start of both sets, he came from behind to book a place in the round of 16 stage, winning the final two sets 11-8, 11-5.

“His performance was normal,” said Macau’s Coach Io Wa Wong, when asked to comment on Long Hong’s match today. This is the first time Long Hong had played against Clarence.

Jit Kiat will meet Iranian Alireza Molarajabi in the round of 16 tomorrow, while Clarence will meet top seed Yin Hang of China in his match.

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