World All Stars defeat Great Britain 3-1

Friday night’s Ladies match between the World All Stars and Great Britain saw the World All Stars win 3-1. The undoubted highlight from England’s point of view was the performance of England no. one Joanne Parker (World ranked  no. 138) who secured an excellent 3-0 win over World no. 91 Ng Wing Wam (Hong Kong) the young lady who reached the  semi-finals in the ITTF Pro Tour Under 21 Ladies Singles. Parker was always in charge and she totally bamboozled her opponent at times with her brand of float and defence. The scores reflect Parker’s superiority.  Parker won 11-5, 11-6, 11-6.

Unfortunately, that was the only game the Great Britain team picked up. Kelly Sibley (World ranked no. 158) was defeated 11-8, 11-7, 11-8 by World no. 142 Saki Tashiro (Japan) – also here as a competitor in the Under 21 Ladies Singles in the ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals. A win in the Doubles was vital but unfortunately the British pairing – Parker and Liu Na (World ranked no. 221)  missed out narrowly 11-8, 12-10, 11-9 against Ng Wing Wam and her Egyptian partner Nadeen El-Dawlatly (World ranked no. 254). Liu Na had the task of keeping the match alive but despite her best efforts she was not able to live with the very impressive Saki Tashiro. The rising Japanese star won 11-5, 11-7, 11-4.

Steve Kerns