Wong Qi Shen caused a stir at WTT Youth Contender Jezzine 2022 presented by White Land Foundation, taking the U19 Boys’ Singles title by defeating top seed Adrien Rassenfosse 3-0 (11-8, 11-8, 11-8). The Malaysian athlete was making his WTT Youth Series debut in Jezzine, having not played an age category international event since 2019. It was an impressive way to burst back on to the scene, winning his maiden title.
Wong encountered both the highs and the lows of sport in Lebanon, not going through the draw unscathed. He had faced Rassenfosse in the Group Stage, losing there in straight games (11-9, 11-6, 17-15). But Wong proved a quick study and reversed that scoreline when the silverware was on the line. It was a quick turnaround which saw the 19-year-old post an impeccable performance after the groups. Wong dropped just one game in the Main Draw on his way to the podium and that was to an in form 2nd seed Alan Kurmangaliyev in the semifinals.
“I am very happy to win this tournament. I came here to Jezzine very motivated and tried to play my best table tennis. All the matches were very challenging and the final was not easy; I was focused and managed the match point by point. I enjoyed being here and Jezzine is a very beautiful place and hope to come back here next year.” Wong Qi Shen
The story was different in the U15 and U17 Boys’ Singles events as top seeds reigned supreme. Yassin Gaber got his hands on the U15 title with a win in the final over Hong Yu Tey (3-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-7). Meanwhile, Alan Kurmangaliyev took out the U17 title with a straight games victory over Iran’s Amirmahdi Keshavarzi (11-8, 12-10, 11-6). The trophy cabinet keeps growing for Kurmangaliyev as the Kazakhstani athlete has a total of five WTT Youth Series titles to his name in 2022. Kurmangaliyev’s attention now turns to Tunisia, with the 2022 World Youth Championships on his mind.
In the U13 Boys’ Singles, Abdelmalk Elsayed upset the standings as he topped the podium with a straight games win over Mohammed Al-Saluati (11-5, 11-7, 11-4). Elsayed was in superb form, knocking out top seed Yousif Abdalla in the quarterfinal 3-1 (11-5, 10-12, 11-5, 11-8). Over in the U11 Boys’ Singles Fariz Shakiba showed exactly why he had top billing in the event, winning the title without dropping a game.
The next stop in the WTT Youth Series will be WTT Youth Star Contender Vila Nova de Gaia, set to get underway in Portugal from 23-27 November.
Source: WTT Official Page
