Para sensation Bly Twomey was one of a number of young athletes to secure invitations to the Mark Bates Ltd National Championships through the Cambridge Charity Junior 4*.
The competition, in aid of WheelPower, was held at the University of Cambridge Sports Center this weekend.
Competitions in the Junior and Cadet categories contribute to the rankings which provide a qualifying route to the Nationals of their respective age group next year. Winners are automatically invited (if eligible) and points are awarded based on how far players progress in the competitions.
Photos by Michael Loveder – see more at PhotoShelter.
Leaderboards
Cadet girls | Cadet boys
Junior girls | Junior Boys
Paralympic medalist and European champion Twomey won the Junior (U19) Girls event to seal her invitation to the Nationals.
Twomey had a walkover in the final against Stuti Kashyap, after beating Soraya Rahmani-Walentynska 3-0 (11-7, 11-6, 11-4) in the semi-final. At the same stage, Kashyap defeated Rachael Iles 3-1 (11-6, 7-11, 11-5, 11-9).
The quarter-final saw a pair of games go to the fifth – Twomey beat Rachael Li 3-2 from 2-0 down (9-11, 7-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-4) and Iles also came from two down to beat Hannah Saunders 3-2 (9-11, 9-11, 11-7, 16-14, 11-5).
Isaac Kingham defeated Max Radiven to win the Junior Boys final, twice coming from behind to take the title 3-2 (13-15, 11-5, 5-11, 11-8, 11-5).
Radiven had not dropped a match till then and it was Aarav Parihar who he defeated in the semi-final (4, 8, 4).
Kingham came through the bottom half of the draw, finding Rohan Dani a tough nut to crack in the semi-finals, eventually winning 3-2 (9-11, 12-10, 8-11, 14-12, 11-6).
Dani also went to five in the last 16, where he defeated Harrison Hill 3-2 (6-11, 11-6, 11-3, 7-11, 11-4). There was a notable scoreline at the same stage when Rishaan Sawant took on Denmark’s Andreas Kongsdel, with Sawant winning 3-2 (19-17, 0-11, 7-11, 11-7, 11-9).
Kai Lun Chow won the Cadet (U15) Boys final, beating Sinan Surensoy 3-1 (11-7, 11-6, 7-11, 11-7) in the final.
In the semifinals, Chow defeated Ryan Holland 3-0 (11-5, 11-6, 11-8), while Surensoy defeated Zihan 3-1 (11-6, 11-9, 9-11, 11-6).
Chow’s toughest match came in the last 16, where he had to work hard to see off Charlton Ngitngit 3-2 (11-7, 11-2, 13-15, 10-12, 11-3).
Surensoy also had an epic encounter at the same stage, beating Sawant 3-2 (12-14,11-4, 13-15, 11-7, 11-5). It was also 3-2 in the quarterfinal between Lin and Pablo Ramirez Rioja, won by the former 3-2 (15-13, 9-11, 15-17, 11-6, 11-6).
In the Cadet Girls competition, victory went to Alyssa Nguyen, who met Hannah Saunders in the final and won 3-1 (14-12, 6-11, 11-9, 11-6).
Saunders defeated Assil Sarri 3-1 (6-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-7) in the semi-finals, while Nguyen needed all five to get past Soraya Rahmani-Walentynska (11-3, 6-11, 9-11, 11-1, 11-9).
In the quarter-finals, Saunders defeated clubmate Amber Lemmon 3-2 (11-6, 6-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-8) and Sarri defeated Charlotte Lok Ching Wong 3-2 (11-9, 5-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-9), while Rahmani-Walentynska needed five in the last sixteen. Alexia Ciobanica (11-9, 11-5, 12-14, 5-11, 11-5).
There were some close matches in the Under-17 Boys, although winner Radiven was largely untroubled as he dropped just one match in the knockouts.
That was in the semi-finals, when he defeated Prayrit Ahluwalia 3-1 (11-7, 8-11, 11-8, 11-9). Radiven defeated Kai Lun Chow in the final 3-0 (11-7, 11-9, 11-8).
Chow defeated Oscar Nikolli 3-0 (11-6, 11-8, 11-9) in his semi-final, but his quarter-final was tougher as he came from 2-1 down to edge past Adam Alibhai 3-2 (13-11, 9-11, 7-11, 11-6, 13-11).
There were three great matches involving Noah Byrne-Smith in the earlier rounds. First he defeated Leo Nguyen 3-2 (12-10, 9-11, 9-11, 11-7, 13-11) and then Harry Tomlinson 3-2 (11-9, 12-10, 6-11, 10-12, 11-7). His run was ended by Ahluwalia in the quarter-finals, again in five (13-11, 11-9, 6-11, 8-11, 11-7).
The Under-17 Girls final went to Stuti Kashyap, the American girl who got a walkover against Soraya Rahmani-Walentynska.
Rahmani-Walentynska came from 2-0 down to beat Charlotte Lok Ching Wong 3-2 (8-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-8) in the semi-finals, where Kashyap defeated Eva Eccles.
The first round saw some great comebacks, with lower-ranked players beating higher-ranked opponents – Assil Sarri defeated second seed Alyssa Nguyen 3-2 (8-11, 10-12, 11-9, 11-6, 11-8) and Millie Noble defeated Hannah Saunders 3-2 (4-11, 6-11, 12-10, 11-7, 12-10).
Malek Shamakh won the Under-13 Boys event by beating Li Hao Chan in the final. In the semi-final, Shamakh defeated Saisuriya Prasanna Kumar 3-1 (11-4, 11-7, 6-11, 11-7), while Chen defeated Christopher Darby.
In the Shamakh quarterfinals, he held off a comeback from Lev Sahmurov and won 3-2 (11-6, 11-3, 10-12, 9-11, 11-5).
Amber Lemmon won the Under-13 Girls when she defeated Bethany Yang 3-1 (11-8, 11-6, 10-12, 11-6) in the final.
Lemmon’s semi-final was played in threes (11-5, 12-10, 11-7) against Alexia Ciobanica, while Yang went the distance with Serene Rahmani-Walentynska, coming from 2-0 down to win 3-2 (8-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-4).
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