Gold and silver for Danilo at Star Contender
At the first WTT Youth Star Contender in Skopje, Macedonia, Danilo Faso, supported by compass, won an impressive gold medal in the U15 doubles with compatriot Francesco Trevisan and a remarkable silver medal in the U15 singles.
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Danilo serving on his way to gold in the doubles with Francesco Trevisan, right. Photo: World Table Tennis
Danilo, who is still a year younger than many of his rivals, put on an amazing tournament as the first Youth Star Contender for the 2024/2025 season kicked off in Skopje from 4-8 September. The event attracted a world-class field, including many of the best Chinese, Japanese and Korean players as well as the top youngsters from Europe.
In the U15 doubles, Faso/Trevisan defeated Bossis/Cavaille of France 3:1 in the quarter-finals. Then the Italian duo did something remarkable – they beat two Chinese teams in a row! First Zhou Guanhong/Wang Zining 3:1 in the semi-finals, then Tang Yiren/Li Hechen by the same score in the final.
A battle
In the U15 singles, Danilo once again had to face Chinese opponents – and beat them. At least one of them. After winning his group, which is not the easiest thing to do in a Star Contender where all the participants have previously qualified through good results in normal Contender competitions and have a high level of skill, Danilo defeated Wojciech Szymczak of Poland 3:0 and in the round of the last eight Lin Chin-Ting of Chinese Taipei 3:1.
“From the first match in the group to the last point in the final, it was not a tournament – it was a battle,” Danilo said afterwards. “Everything was very intense, there were a lot of very strong Asian players.”
Another encounter with the Chinese
In the semi-finals, Danilo faced another Chinese player, Tang Yiren, who had earlier in the tournament knocked out the top seeded number 3 of the U15 world ranking, Lee Seungsoo of Korea Republic. As in the doubles, Danilo stood his ground and won a very tight semi-final – 5:11, 11:9, 8:11, 11:7, 14:12!
In the final, Danilo was defeated by another Chinese player Li Hechen 1:3.
“The semi-finals and finals in doubles and singles were just great matches against these good Chinese players,” Danilo continued. “I am very proud because I managed to play at a high level throughout the competition.”
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Görkem Öcal, left, playing doubles in Skopje. Photo: WTT
Görkem in the last 8
Compass supported Görkem Öcal also played in the U15 tournament in Skopje. He lost in the first round of the doubles tournament but reached the quarter-finals in the singles.
Görkem, born in 2011 and therefore up to two years younger than many of his opponents, defeated Samuel Michna from Poland 3:2 after trailing 1:2 in games. In the quarter-finals, Görkem was beaten in straight games by Chen Kei-Cheng from Chinese Taipei.
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Flavien Coton, silver medalist in the U19 singles in Skopje. Photo: WTT
Silver for Flavien in the U19
France’s Flavien Coton, who switched from compass to ACE, the Athelete Centered Ecosystem for players aged 15+, also had a strong tournament. In the U19 category, Flavien beat China’s Huang Youzheng 3:0 and then defeated top seed Lee Seungsoo of Korea Republic 3:0 in the round of 16.
In the semi-finals, Coton defeated India’s Divyansh Srivastava 3:1, but in the final Flavien lost a five-game thriller to Germany’s Andre Bertelsmeier 10:12 in the decider after leading 2:1.
More information about the tournaments and all results can be found at:
Gold and silver for Danilo at Star Contender
Gold and silver for Danilo at Star Contender
At the first WTT Youth Star Contender in Skopje, Macedonia, Danilo Faso, supported by compass, won an impressive gold medal in the U15 doubles with compatriot Francesco Trevisan and a remarkable silver medal in the U15 singles.
none
Danilo serving on his way to gold in the doubles with Francesco Trevisan, right. Photo: World Table Tennis
Danilo, who is still a year younger than many of his rivals, put on an amazing tournament as the first Youth Star Contender for the 2024/2025 season kicked off in Skopje from 4-8 September. The event attracted a world-class field, including many of the best Chinese, Japanese and Korean players as well as the top youngsters from Europe.
In the U15 doubles, Faso/Trevisan defeated Bossis/Cavaille of France 3:1 in the quarter-finals. Then the Italian duo did something remarkable – they beat two Chinese teams in a row! First Zhou Guanhong/Wang Zining 3:1 in the semi-finals, then Tang Yiren/Li Hechen by the same score in the final.
A battle
In the U15 singles, Danilo once again had to face Chinese opponents – and beat them. At least one of them. After winning his group, which is not the easiest thing to do in a Star Contender where all the participants have previously qualified through good results in normal Contender competitions and have a high level of skill, Danilo defeated Wojciech Szymczak of Poland 3:0 and in the round of the last eight Lin Chin-Ting of Chinese Taipei 3:1.
“From the first match in the group to the last point in the final, it was not a tournament – it was a battle,” Danilo said afterwards. “Everything was very intense, there were a lot of very strong Asian players.”
Another encounter with the Chinese
In the semi-finals, Danilo faced another Chinese player, Tang Yiren, who had earlier in the tournament knocked out the top seeded number 3 of the U15 world ranking, Lee Seungsoo of Korea Republic. As in the doubles, Danilo stood his ground and won a very tight semi-final – 5:11, 11:9, 8:11, 11:7, 14:12!
In the final, Danilo was defeated by another Chinese player Li Hechen 1:3.
“The semi-finals and finals in doubles and singles were just great matches against these good Chinese players,” Danilo continued. “I am very proud because I managed to play at a high level throughout the competition.”
none
Görkem Öcal, left, playing doubles in Skopje. Photo: WTT
Görkem in the last 8
Compass supported Görkem Öcal also played in the U15 tournament in Skopje. He lost in the first round of the doubles tournament but reached the quarter-finals in the singles.
Görkem, born in 2011 and therefore up to two years younger than many of his opponents, defeated Samuel Michna from Poland 3:2 after trailing 1:2 in games. In the quarter-finals, Görkem was beaten in straight games by Chen Kei-Cheng from Chinese Taipei.
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Flavien Coton, silver medalist in the U19 singles in Skopje. Photo: WTT
Silver for Flavien in the U19
France’s Flavien Coton, who switched from compass to ACE, the Athelete Centered Ecosystem for players aged 15+, also had a strong tournament. In the U19 category, Flavien beat China’s Huang Youzheng 3:0 and then defeated top seed Lee Seungsoo of Korea Republic 3:0 in the round of 16.
In the semi-finals, Coton defeated India’s Divyansh Srivastava 3:1, but in the final Flavien lost a five-game thriller to Germany’s Andre Bertelsmeier 10:12 in the decider after leading 2:1.
More information about the tournaments and all results can be found at:
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