Hong Kong's youngsters notched a creditable victory over Argentina in the team play-offs of the World Junior Championships to leave coach Chris Clark a happy man yesterday.
The SAR's boys will now battle it out for positions nine to 12 in the play-offs of the tournament in Princeton, New Jersey, after defeating the South Americans 2-1 in the three-rubber match.
'It was a very good win for us,' said Clark. 'The whole team played with a lot of maturity and showed that they can do well under pressure.' Adrian Fong set Hong Kong on the road to victory when he romped to a straight-games win over Robertino Pezzota in the opening rubber. Fong eased past his opponent, winning 9-0, 10-8, 9-2.
Argentina levelled the match in the next rubber when their talented youngster Jorge Keen defeated Hong Kong's top junior, Vincent Cheung, in a marathon five-game epic.
Cheung had appeared to be on his way to an easy triumph after shading the opening two games, 10-8, 9-6.
After opening up a 6-3 lead in the third, Cheung looked a sure-fire winner but Keen staged a remarkable fightback to win the next three game for a 3-2 victory.
