Ladimir Mayorov, the extraordinary 13-year-old Spanish talent, broke through much of the Chinese U15 wall in Gangneung, Republic of Korea, last weekend. “Ladi” defeated three top Chinese U15 players on his way to the final, where he lost to Xu Minghao in the deciding game.

This time, Ladimir’s Asian tour included a two-week training camp in Gangneung, on the northeast coast of the Republic of Korea, followed by a WTT Youth Contender and a WTT Youth Star Contender in the same city.

It was at the Youth Star Contender that Ladimir showed his skills most impressively. One or two years younger than his opponents, he managed to defeat three Chinese players in a row: Lai Hongrui in straight games, Li Shangjun 3:1 and Chen Yizhou in straight games in the semifinal. Ladi came close to taking the title, but in the final against Xu Minghao he surrendered a 2:1 lead, losing the last two games 6:11 and 8:11.

“This was an important experience for Ladimir,” commented his father and coach, Eduard Mayorov. “He is becoming more confident and is no longer afraid of playing against Asian players.

For our project, this was a very important mental breakthrough and a big step forward. Of course, this does not mean that training in Korea is better than in Europe. It is simply a different experience, and being there and competing against Asian players has a very important mental effect.”

In the U19 event, Ladimir finished second in his qualification group but lost in the first round of the knockout stage to Cheng Min-Hsiu of Chinese Taipei. In U15 mixed doubles, Ladimir partnered Amina Ilimbetova and reached the semifinals.

At the WTT Youth Contender earlier in the week, the Spanish-Russian pair won the U15 mixed doubles competition, defeating the Republic of Korea’s Choi Kanggeon and Lee Yubin in straight games in the final. In the same tournament, Ladimir reached the last 16 in U17 singles and the quarterfinals in U15, where he lost 2:3 to Lee Junho after leading 2:1 and dropping the last two games 7:11 and 7:11.

“We were very happy with the results,” Eduard Mayorov concluded. “Most importantly, the camp and the two tournaments showed us that our strategy works.”

Fellow compass-supported player Adela Brhelova of Czechia also trained for two weeks in Korea before competing in the Youth Contender event. Adela did not qualify for the knockout stage in U17. In U15, she won her first knockout match before losing to the Republic of Korea’s Lee Yeseo in three closely contested games in the round of 32.

Several other WTT Youth Contender events took place in September. In Tunis, from 3 to 6 September, compass-supported Arthur Stribeck (Sweden) and Louis Fegerl (Austria) both enjoyed success. Arthur finished runner-up in U11, while Louis reached the quarter-finals in both U17 and U19 despite still being of U13 age.

In U19, which featured 25 participants, Louis Fegerl finished second in his group. In the knockout stage, he defeated Sweden’s Olle Stahl 3:2 before losing 1:3 to France’s Noah Vittel in the quarter-finals. In U17, Louis won his group and defeated Luxembourg’s Philip Theisen in straight games before losing to another French player, Sandro Cavaille, 7:11, 11:13, 7:11.

In U13, Sweden’s Arthur Stribeck did not progress beyond the group stage, recording one win and three losses. In U11, the 11-year-old Swede bounced back by winning his group and then defeating Tunisia’s Iyed Tayachi 3:1 in the semifinals. In the final, Arthur lost to another Tunisian player, Ahmed Jebali, 8:11, 10:12, 11:7, 8:11.

“Arthur is smart and bold, but sometimes he makes things a little too difficult for himself at the table,” commented his coach at the tournament, Martin Abrahamson. “In the final, Arthur was too often second to the ball, which forced him away from the table, while his opponent was able to hold his position.”

A WTT Youth Contender was held in Spa, Belgium, from 21 to 24 September. There, compass-supported Elina Hu reached the U13 final despite being up to three years younger than some of her opponents. She did not advance to the knockout stage in U15, but won all three of her group matches in U13.

In the knockout stage, the young Swiss player defeated Germany’s Hannah Schlauch 3:1. In the final, Elina lost 2:3 to France’s Louise Lounas in a very close five-game match. The reported game scores were 11:9, 15:17, 9:11, 12:10 and 10:12 from Elina’s perspective.

“The final was very close and competitive, with every game decided by just two points,” commented Elina’s father and coach, Jiashun Hu. “Both players had their chances to win. Unfortunately, in the end, her opponent played consistently and aggressively and managed to win.

Still, Elina played very well. She can learn a lot from this experience, and hopefully use it to improve and do even better next time.”