compass player Görkem Öcal from Turkey just had a successful week on the international scene. At the WTT Youth Contender in Spa he finished second in the U15 category. In Metz he was second in the U17 and reached the last 8 in the U15.

The WTT Youth Contender tour recently landed in Spa and Metz where the participants had the opportunity to play two international tournaments in one week. The girls started in Metz and the boys in Spa and then the girls finished the week in Spa and the boys in Metz. Several compass players took part in one or two of the competitions. The most successful was Görkem Ocal, born in 2011, from Turkey.

Görkem could have played in the U13s, but to get some real competition he skipped that event and went for the U15s and U17s instead.

In Spa he managed to reach the knockout stage in both categories. In the U17 category he lost 2:3 to Myhailo Lovha from Ukraine, but in U15 category Görkem went all the way to the final. On his way there he defeated another compass talent, Ladimir Mayorov, born in 2013, 3-0 and Abraham Sellado from England 3:1. In the quarter-finals, Görkem defeated Noah Vittel of France 3-2, coming back from 0:2 to win the decider 11:8. In the semi-final against Jan Skalda of the Czech Republic, the match went to the wire and Görkem won 11:6 in the fifth game.

The young Turkish showed a strong mentality in many five game matches during the week. In the final, Görkem finally lost to Ma Yeongmin from Korea Republic in straight but even games 7:11, 9:11, 10:12.

In Metz, Görkem reached the last 8 in the U15 category, but his performance in the U17 category was really impressive. He managed to beat several strong junior players, including top seed Samuel Arpas of Slovakia 3:1 in the quarter-finals. And in the semi-finals, he beat top seed Wassim Essid of Tunisia 3:2. In this match, the third game was decisive and Görkem won it 16:14. The decider was easier – 11:4. In the final, Görkem lost 1:3 to Nathan Lam from France.

Görkem started the tournament ranked 28th and ended up second!

“It was obvious that Görkem was well prepared for these tournaments,” commented compass expert coach Bogdan Pugna. “In the stands we all realised that he now has the capacity to compete at this level, which is already high.

Above all, he has improved his aggressiveness in front of the table, both from the backhand and the forehand side. He and his father have been doing a very good job over the last few months, according to the improvements we have seen.”

compass player Ladimir Mayorov managed to reach the knockout stage in the U15 event in Spa, although “Lad” could have played in the U11 event! In the U13 category he beat Fan Hiu Yeung 3:0 before losing to Onur Guluzade of Azerbaijan in the quarter-finals. It was very close though. Ladimir led 2:1 before losing the fourth and fifth sets 10:12 and 11:13.

In Spa, Mayorov beat Quentin Sandona 3:0 in the U13 quarter-finals and then top seeded Peader Sheridan from Ireland in the semi-finals. In the final, “Lad” met Onur Guluzade from Azerbaijan again, and this time it was a bigger defeat than in the quarter-finals in Spa – 0:3.

“Ladimir has once again shown what a good understanding of the game he already has,” says compass expert coach Oliver Alke. “His control on the ball and variability are first-class for his age. He proved this again in Spa and Metz with good individual results and a podium finish.”

Siri Benjegård only played in Metz where she reached the round of last 16 in the U15 category.

In the U13 she reached the final and beat two French girls, Albane Rochut (3:1) and Lisa Zhao (3:2), before losing 2-3 to Eva Lam in the final.

German compass player Ivo Quett reached the knockout stage in the U15 event in Spa, where he defeated Kuang Ze Ni from Ireland before losing to Adam Wallin from Sweden. Joel Isaksson also competed in Spa. He finished third in his group in the U13 event and did not reach the knockout stage.

WTT Youth Contender Spa 2024

WTT Youth Contender Metz 2024