Junior Kiwis finish 18th in Namibia

The New Zealand Junior Boys' team has finished in 18th position at the World Junior Teams Championships in Namibia.

A final round loss to South Africa in the playoff for 17th position sealed 18th place for the Kiwis overnight in an extremely closely contested tie.  Scott Galloway was beaten in four sets by the South African number one player, before Luke Jones levelled the tie with an heroic five set victory (13-11 in the fifth).  Chapman Kutia then came oh-so-close to pulling off a remarkable victory over another higher-ranked opponent, going down 12-10 in the fifth.

The loss to South African capped a rollercoaster ride throughout the teams event, with wins over the likes of Sweden, Namibia and Zimbabwe tempered by losses to Spain, Finland and Kuwait.  The team performed to its 16-18 seeding, and represented New Zealand with pride and sportsmanship.

Latest Results

New Zealand (16-18) bt Zimbabwe (19-21)

Scott Galloway bt Tafadza Mushunje 11-4 11-6 11-6
Luke Jones bt Innocent Mukumba 11-0 11-4
Chapman Kutia bt Bryn Turk 11-2 11-3 11-2

New Zealand (16-18) lost to South Africa (16-18)

Scott Galloway lost to Laurence Kuhn 11-3 10-12 8-11 11-13 (41 min)
Luke Jones bt Aubrey Lawrence 2-11 11-5 6-11 11-6 13-11 (60 min)
Chapman Kutia lost to Jean-Pierre van de Merwe 9-11 11-9 9-11 11-9 10-12 (63 min)

Full results: http://www.wjsc2014.com/team-results-list/