WJC 2024 Day 6 - Individual competition wraps up

The final day of individual competition at the World Junior Championships took place on Wednesday with one Australian player in action.

Queensland's Sarbani Maitra backed up from an epic comeback win on day five to defeat her second Scottish in as many days.

Women’s 57th-58th Playoff
 Sarbani Maitra d  Louisa Kaven 3-1 (11-8, 11-4, 7-11, 11-5)

In the tournament deciders, Egypt enjoyed a perfect day as Amina Orfi won an unprecedented third consecutive title and Mohamad Zakaria became the youngest-ever male champion.

Orfi, 17, who won the 2022 edition in France and the 2023 edition in Australia, came into the final against compatriot and No.2 seed Fayrouz Aboelkheir knowing that a win would not only see her draw level with Egyptian legend Nour El Sherbini’s record haul of three titles, but put her in a class of her own as the only player to win three consecutively.

The top seed, who like Aboelkheir went into today’s final in Texas having not dropped a single game, looked edgy early on as Aboelkheir made the brighter start, but eventually settled to take the opener 11-7.

The 17-year-old then doubled her lead after a mammoth 23-minute second game, with Orfi seeing four game balls saved before eventually converting.

That win put the wind in her sails and, in a fractious third game, she closed out 11-5 to cap a famous victory.

Top seed Zakaria, meanwhile, a beaten finalist last year in Melbourne, went into his clash with Republic of Korea’s Joo Young Na as the firm favourite, with the 16-year-old yet to drop a game during an efficient run.

Na, meanwhile, had defied all expectations to become the first ever Korean to reach the final of a World Championship, with his 3-2 win over defending champion Hamza Khan in the quarter-final sending shockwaves through the tournament.

Zakaria spoke ahead of the match of the danger presented by Na, and his tactics bore that out as Zakaria played a patient game, attacking only whenever the opportunity presented itself.

This plan proved effective, with Na, who played five games in his semi-final and quarter-final, hitting some spectacular shots but failing to consistently hurt Zakaria.

After taking the first game 11-6, the top seed moved into a commanding lead with an 11-4 win in game two.

Na dug in desperately in game three but could not dislodge Zakaria, with the 16-year-old holding him at arm’s length throughout and, after a tense wait on a video referee decision on match ball, clinched the title with another 11-6 win.

Women’s Final
[1] 🇪🇬 Amina Orfi d [2] 🇪🇬 Fayrouz Aboelkheir 3-0 (11-7, 15-13, 11-5)

Men’s Final
[1] 🇪🇬 Mohamad Zakaria d [9/16] 🇰🇷 Joo Young Na 3-0 (11-6, 11-4, 11-6)