September 4, 2008
ITTF Junior Circuit: Funchal Junior Open
 Portugal's Maria Xiao Photo By: Moncho Ortega |
Courtesy of ITTF The only surprise of note on the opening day of proceedings, Wednesday September 3, 2008, in the Girls' Singles event at the Funchal Junior Open on the Atlantic island of Madeira was the defeat of fourth seed, Portugal's Maria Xiao by Russia's seventh seeded Yana Noskova of Russia. |
However, defeat for the young lady who had the distinction of being the youngest player on duty at the 2006 ITTF World Junior Championships in Cairo, Egypt, was not a surprise of great proportions.
Yana Noskova is a fine player.
Especially at junior level, Russia has always had a large number of promising young players. Continually, at the annual European Youth Championships they are most competitive.
Positive End
An early setback for the Portuguese teenager but for her and her country there was a positive ending to the day in the Girls' Singles event.
Maria Xiao progressed to the second stage of proceedings as the runner up in the group, where she duly rose to the occasion to beat the much travelled Livia Gomes of Brazil to book her place in round two.
More Good News for Host Association but not for Russia
Good news for Portugal and there was more.
Leila Oliveira, seeded nine, beat Russia's Tatiana Ryabova, seeded five; while Maria Nogueira, seeded twelve, overcame Tataiana Ryabova's compatriot, Anastasiya Golubera, seeded one place below.
Two disappointments for Russia and there was a third. Olga Baranova, the sixth seed, was beaten by Slovakia's Andrea Daubernova.
Not Required
The top three seeds - Slovakia's Barbora Balazova, France's Aurore Dessaint and Sweden's Malin Pettersson - all received opening round byes as did Russia's Yana Noskova.
Mixed Fortunes
Meanwhile, in the Girls' Doubles event only two matches were required in the opening round with mixed fortunes being the order of matters for Portugal.
Carina Sousa and Nicole Agrela lost to Russia's Olga Baranova and Anastasia Golubeva, while Mariana Gonçalves and Sara Costa defeated their Portuguese compatriot who teamed with Brazil's Livia Gomes.
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