Naphong Boonyaprapa and Charlotte Bardsley reached the main draw at the Oman Junior & Cadet Open in Muscat, while Gerogios Gerakios was unlucky to miss out.
Boonyaprapa was fighting on two fronts, in both the Junior and Cadet Boys’ Singles, and he excelled by winning all six of his group matches, including a tremendous comeback to beat Sweden’s Ludwig Ebenius 3-2 (8-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-3) in the Cadet competition. In the Juniors, he defeated seventh seed Salem Alsuwailem of Saudi Arabia 3-1 (8-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-6).
A quirk of the draw saw hm play the same player in the last 32 of both events – India’s Preyesh Suresh Raj – and Boonyaprapa struck the first blow as he won a titanic clash in the Cadets 3-2 (12-10, 15-13, 7-11, 8-11, 11-8).
The re-match in the Juniors was played within an hour of the Cadet match finishing and this time Suresh Raj claimed a 3-0 (11-8, 11-6, 11-6) victory.
Back in the Cadets, 11th seed Boonyaprapa met seventh-ranked Alexey Perfilyev of Russia in the last 16 and it was the higher-ranked player who prevailed 3-1 (11-7, 11-8, 9-11, 11-5).
Bardsley, seeded seventh, topped her group on countback after three players won two matches each. That put her into the last 16, where she was beaten 4-1 by Nehal Vengadasamy of India, a match which was closer than the scoreline suggests as the game scores were 7-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-7, 11-9.
Gerakios won two of his three group matches in the Cadet Boys’ Singles, against opponents from Sweden and the host nation, but defeat in his final match to Abdullah Abdulwahhab of Qatar send him into a three-way tie at the top of the group – and the English youngster was the one to be eliminated on countback.
Results
Cadet Boys’ Singles
Group 11
Naphong Boonyaprapa bt Turki Al Abri (OMA) 3-0 (11-2, 11-4, 11-1)
Boonyaprapa bt Ludwig Ebenius (SWE) 3-2 (8-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-3)
Boonyaprapa bt Kakeru Hannayake (SRI) 3-1 (10-12, 11-3, 11-9, 11-4)
Group 12
Georgios Gerakios bt Kevin Brunzell (SWE) 3-1 (11-8, 13-11, 8-11, 11-8)
Gerakios bt Bader Al Jassasi (OMA) 3-0 (11-8, 11-5, 11-9)
Abdullah Abdulwahhab (QAT) bt Gerakios 3-0 (11-3, 11-5, 11-7)
Round of 32
Boonyaprapa bt Preyesh Suresh Raj (IND) 3-2 (12-10, 15-13, 7-11, 8-11, 11-8)
Round of 16
Alexey Perfilyev (RUS) bt Boonyaprapa 3-1 (11-7, 11-8, 9-11, 11-5)
Junior Boys’ Singles
Group 7
Naphong Boonyaprapa bt Hamdi Kaswal (JOR) 3-0 (11-7, 11-4, 11-4)
Boonyaprapa bt Salem Alsuwailem (KSA) 3-1 (8-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-6)
Boonyaprapa bt Vihandu Wathudurage (SRI) 3-2 (11-6, 11-5, 8-11, 10-12, 11-6)
Round of 32
Preyesh Suresh Raj (IND) bt Boonyaprapa 3-0 (11-8, 11-6, 11-6)
Junior Girls’ Singles
Group 7
Charlotte Bardsley bt Batool Khader (JOR) 3-0 (11-2, 11-2, 11-7)
Bardsley bt Suhana Saini (IND) 3-0 (11-3, 11-4, 12-10)
Taneesha Kotecha (IND) bt Bardsley 3-1 (11-13, 11-3, 11-7, 11-8)
Round of 16
Nehal Vengadasamy (IND) bt Bardsley 4-1 (7-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-7, 11-9)