World Juniors: Turkiye Fall Agonisingly Short Against Denmark

Denmark won a heart-stoppingly close tie against Turkiye to make the playoff for ninth place at the VICTOR World Junior Team Championships on Thursday.

The teams were tied 54-all with the tie on the line in the final women’s singles. Denmark’s Ida Nissen took the final point over Aleyna Korkut, reversing the score from the first game, and sparking a big celebration from her team.

Turkiye’s Aleyna Korkut is crestfallen after she loses the final point and Denmark celebrate

Turkiye had taken the first game after Korkut had pulled her team back from 38-44, but fortunes shifted in the second, and Nissen was able to control proceedings. The Danes continued to ride on that momentum in the third but in the penultimate match, the mixed doubles, Gokay Gol/Nisa Nur Cimen dragged their team back into contention by taking Turkiye to within three points of Denmark before the final match.

Nissen built up an early lead and held four match points but her opponent Aleyna Korkut fought with great spirit and climbed level, until the Dane finally converted at 54-all.

Ida Nessen in action against Aleyna Korkut

“It was really close so happy that I could perform and close it. There were a lot of nerves and a bit of luck at the end,” said Nissen.

“I haven’t played such a close match in such a big tournament, so it gives me a lot of confidence and I’m just really happy. They have a good team in every category, so I wasn’t surprised. But they have improved a lot. In the second set, I was a bit behind and I didn’t have a lot to lose so I played with all I had and it went well, and in the third the nerves started coming, because we were so far ahead and I didn’t want to lose it for the team.”

In the playoffs for positions 5-8, Hong Kong China overcame a tough challenge from Japan to win 55-51 44-55 55-48, and will next take on UAE for the chance to place fifth overall.

“It’s a good result for the players to get them motivated after yesterday’s loss against Thailand, because they came prepared and we were hoping for a good breakthrough when we were playing Thailand,” said Hong Kong China coach Wong Choong Hann. “We came close but it wasn’t enough, and Thailand held their fort despite our challenge.

“Today we fielded a bit of our second tier and hoped they could gain some valuable experience. I believe we achieved that objective, but at the same time we also see certain shortcomings that we need to work on to prepare them for a bigger stage next time.”

Hong Kong China’s Emily Ip Sum Yau

» Azerbaijan beat Slovenia 2-1 and then Zambia 2-0 to win 37th place overall, while Peru overcame Poland 55-52 in the third to win 29th place.

» Ghana claimed 41st place beating hosts Egypt 2-0, while Austria took 43rd place beating Senegal 2-0.