Day ONE : Round One in KL

WSF World Juniors under way in KL

The 2019 WSF World Juniors kicked off today in Kuala Lumpur with 70+ Men’s and Women’s Round One matches.

All of the seeded players were already through to round two – including the entirety of the strong Egyptian contingent – and the vast majority of today’s winners will meet players who received a first round bye.

There were some epic matches though, some narrow escapes and dramatic comebacks. Some that stand out :

MEN:
Match ball save disappoints home crowd:
To Wai Lok (HKG) 3-2 Darryl Gan (MAS) 11-5, 9-11, 4-11, 12-10, 11-8
Another Hong Kong thriller :
Wong King Yeung (HKG) 3-2 Nicolas Serna (COL) 11-7, 5-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-9
Korean comeback :
Kim Seokjin (KOR) 3-2 Miguel Mathis (SUI) 9-11, 9-11, 11-8, 12-10, 11-5
Kiwi wins trans-Tasman battle:
Willz Donnelly (NZL) 3-2 Sam Sergo (AUS) 11-6, 5-11, 5-11, 11-4, 11-9

WOMEN:
India Epic:
Ananya Dabke (IND) 3-2 Ayumi Watanabe (JPN)    11-5, 9-11, 10-12, 11-4, 11-4
Swiss squeezes through:
Cassandra Fitze (SUI) 3-2 Alesya Aleshina (RUS)    11-2, 5-11, 5-11, 13-11, 12-10
Canadian comeback:
Molly Chadwick (CAN) 3-2 Heylie Fung (HKG)    6-11, 8-11, 11-4, 11-9, 11-5
South African survival:
Taryn Emslie (RSA) 3-2 Sophie Hodges (NZL)    9-11, 4-11, 12-10, 11-6, 11-9

Today we’ve concentrated on getting photos of as many matches as possible (they’re all in the Gallery) and a few social media updates, but as the draws come down we’ll be able to refine the coverage.