Japan Shocks US Team In Emotional Win At World Juniors
from DailySquashReport.com
photos courtesy Steve Cubbins
July 17, 2012 - The US men's junior team, still reeling from a convincing quarterfinal loss at the hands of England, was stunned 2-1 today in the World Juniors 5/8 playoff round by Japan, a country making only its third appearance in the World Championships.
Dylan Murray opened play in the #1 slot by winning the first game against Ryosei Kobayashi, but the Japanese took control after squeezing out a two-point second and defeated Dylan in a 47-minute four games.
US #2 Edward Columbia then dominated Taiki Kaido in 27 minutes to knot the match at one, setting up the decider between #3's TJ Dembinski and Tomotaka Endo.
TJ went down 2-1 but ground his way back to save a tight fourth game, winning 11-9 to keep the US hopes alive.
Endo then nursed home the dramatic fifth 11-7, setting off an emotional moment for the Japanese.
The 6th-seeded US plays #10 Canada this morning for 7th place.
RESULTS
US v Japan
Dylan Murray 1-3 Ryosei Kobayashi 8/11, 11/9, 5/11, 7/11 (47m)
Edward Columbia 3-0 Taiki Kaido 11/8, 11/7, 11/5 (27m)
TJ Dembinski 2-3 Tomotaka Endo 7/11, 11/8, 6/11, 11/9, 7/11 (63m)
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