Počela su i timska natjecanja. Igraju mješovito, cura s curom, dečko s dečkom i na kraju mješoviti parovi. Rakovac i Pucar su iznenađujuće izgubili od manje poznatih i slabije rangiranih Tajlanđana 1:2. Možda da Zeng pita tajlandskog ljevorukog klinca Tanviriyavechakula za savjet? A three matches to nil win in their opening duel, one day earlier, as expected against Latin America “3”; one day later on Thursday 21st August in the Team event at the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games for the Thailand partnership of Padasak Tanviriyavechakul and Tamolwan Khetkhuan, it was victory again but not as expected. They recorded a two matches to one win over the Croatian partnership of Tomislav Pucar and Lea Rakovac, the no.6 seeds. Padasak Tanviriyavechakul and Tamolwan Khetkhuan commenced proceedings as the no.12 seeds. Good Start Again Against Latin America “3”, Tamolwan Khetkhuan had given Chinese Taipei the perfect start by beating Chelsea Edghill in three straight games (11-1, 11-2, 11-4); against Croatia and against expectations she did exactly the same. She beat Lea Rakovac without conceding a single (11-7, 11-4, 11-5). The result was a shot in the arm for Thailand; on the Under 18 Girls’ World Rankings, Lea Rakovac stands at no.27; Tamolwan Khetkuan is at no.43. First Meeting “It’s the first time I’ve ever played against her”, said Tamolwan Khekhuan. “I really didn’t think I would win; she goes back from the table and lobs the ball high.” However, Tamolwan Khetkhuan was seemingly prepared for any eventualities. “I tried to play fast so as to give her little time to play her top spin strokes”, continued Tamolwan Khetkhuan. “She used the banana backhand return of service; so I changed my services, served more with backspin and attacked her backhand more.” The “banana” is the modern day return of service with forearm vertical, wrist relaxed and the racket circumnavigating the ball to produce a mixture of sidespin and topsin. Similar Success Success for Tamolwan Khetkhuan was followed by success for Padasak Tanviriyavechakul; not only was it success for the Thai teenager, it was success against expectations and he followed the pattern of the day before. Against the Latin Americans he had beaten Paraguay’s Alejandro Toranzos in five games (12-14, 11-9, 11-7, 9-11, 11-9); against the Croatians he accounted for Tomislav Pucar by a similar margin (11-7, 12-10, 12-14, 10-12, 11-4). The only difference was that the win against the European was an upset; Tomislav Pucar is named at no.31 on the Under 18 Boys’ World Rankings, Padasak Tanviriyavechakul is at no.53. Powerful Opponent “It’s the first time I’ve played him; he is very powerful and in long rallies I had no chance”, said Padasak Tanviriyavechakul “In the third and fourth games he served half long and I made mistakes trying to return his service; in the fifth game I tried to play my backhand down the parallel to his backhand and then on occasions, switch direction wide to the forehand.” Padasak Tanviriyavechakul is left handed as opposed to the tall Tomislav Pucar who right handed. Double Defeat Wins in the two singles matches but not in the doubles; it was a different outcome to one day earlier when they had beaten Tomislav Pucar and Chelsea Edghill in three straight games (11-3, 11-6, 11-6). Against Tomislav Pucar and Lea Rakovac it was a close five games defeat (5-11, 11-6, 6-11, 11-7, 11-9). “It was difficult when the boy played toward me, had so much power”, explained Tamolwan Khetkhuan. “Also when it was the other order, Lea pushed hard with backspin and my top spion was not strong enough against the boy.” Door Open Defeat for Croatia but the door is not closed. On the opening day of action, they beat the Austrian duo of Andreas Levenko and Karoline Mischek by three matches to nil and thus with one fixture remaining, second place is possible. In their concluding contest they won the Latin Americans; Thailand won Austria. Teams finishing in first and second places advance to the main draw.
Posted on: Thu, 21 Aug 2014 14:05:34 +0000