Kanak Jha (USA) – Courtesy of ITTF
Team USA’s Kanak Jha took home a gold medal in Luxembourg by winning the Boys Singles at the 2017 ITTF World Junior Circuit Finals. The invitational championship featured the top 16 boys from the ITTF Junior Tour.
After a slow start in group play where Jha dropped a tough 7 game match to Youssef Abdel-Aziz of Egypt, the current US Men’s Champion beat France’s Bastien Rembert 4-0 and Australia’s Rohan Dhooria 4-1.
In the single-elimination phase of the event, Jha dispatched Shah of India in the quarter-finals 4-0 and Ivonin of Rusia in the semi-finals by the same score. In the finals, it was a see-saw battle with Thakkar of India with Kanak prevailling -9, 3, -9, 6, 3,-9, 6.
“At the beginning of the tournament I was very nervous. After losing my first match, my only thought was you have to play and fight and that’s what I did. It was the first time I played against Thakkar but he is really a fantastic player. I was patient in the rallies. Luxembourg is amazing. Hotel and the venue were very good and it was really a great tournament.” Kanak Jha
Kanak Jha Celebrating a Major Victory in Luxembourg. Courtesy of ITTF.
Watch the highlights of Kanak Jha (USA) and Vikash Manav (IND) in the 2017 World Junior Circuit Finals.
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