Eastbourne's Josh Bennett shines on England duty

Only the eventual champion stopped Josh Bennett as he produced some impressive wins for England at the Hungarian Youth Open.
Josh Bennett in action at the Hungarian Open. Picture courtesy of the ITTFJosh Bennett in action at the Hungarian Open. Picture courtesy of the ITTF
Josh Bennett in action at the Hungarian Open. Picture courtesy of the ITTF

The Eastbourne youngster lost his first group match to France’s Bilal Hamache 3-1 (11-8, 11-4, 8-11, 11-6) but bounced back to defeat Alexander Aponte of the USA 3-0 (11-5, 11-4, 11-2) and Austria’s Christian Friedrich 3-2(10-12, 11-8, 11-9, 9-11, 11-6) to reach the knockout stage.

His run continued as he beat Abdelrahman Rahmou of Egypt 4-1 (8-11, 11-9, 11-2, 11-9, 11-6) in the first round, but third seed and eventual gold medallist Koyo Kanamitsu of Japan ended his interest in the last 64 with a 4-1 (11-8, 14-12, 7-11, 11-3, 11-5) victory.

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In the doubles, 17-year-old Bennett partnered Aponte and the pair defeated David Dimas Chock & Arioc Gomez of Panama 3-0 (11-8, 11-5, 14-12) in the first round before falling in the last 64 to Rimas Lesiv & Medardas Stankevicius of Lithuania, the score 3-0 (11-5, 11-8, 11-7).

Josh Bennett in action at the Hungarian Open. Picture courtesy of the ITTFJosh Bennett in action at the Hungarian Open. Picture courtesy of the ITTF
Josh Bennett in action at the Hungarian Open. Picture courtesy of the ITTF

In the team event, alongside Tom Jarvis and Luke Savill, Bennett won his match to help England beat Austria 3-0, but a 3-2 defeat by Belgium in their second group match meant they were eliminated.

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Josh Bennett in action at the Hungarian Open. Picture courtesy of the ITTFJosh Bennett in action at the Hungarian Open. Picture courtesy of the ITTF
Josh Bennett in action at the Hungarian Open. Picture courtesy of the ITTF
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