It was one of those fairytale moments in table tennis that led Team JOOLA’s Sid Naresh and Jayden Zhou, representing the USA, onto the podium at the ITTF Pan American Junior Games. They took home a bronze medal in the Under 21 Men’s Team event after fighting back to defeat Puerto Rico.
It was a bumpy start for the duo, seeded first in their qualification group, but losing out to an on-form Chilean team – the eventual gold medalists. Sid Naresh fought hard to lock in the first win for the team, ending 11-7 in the 5th against Andres Martinez.
Coming through the group stages as the second qualifiers, the two knew a tough draw was ahead, expecting either Puerto Rico or Cuba.
It would be Puerto Rico and the Americans would face off against the team of Angel Naranjo and Derek Valentine. Naranjo was a silver medalist in the tournament’s Singles event, while Valentine – a rising star in the Pan-American region and a left hander with a powerful forehand game.
“Our overall strategy was hopefully to win both matches against Derek, as we knew Angel would be a more difficult match for us,” says Naresh, reflecting on the match.
The plan was immediately disrupted as Valentine clung on to win 12-10 in the 5th against Zhou, giving Puerto Rico the opening match. Zhou had held a lead and match points, but the Puerto Rican had shown determination against the odds to pull through. The fighting spirit on both teams was evident, this match was a place on the podium for one team.
Despite his best efforts and a world class backhand roller in the first game, Sid Naresh lost out in four games to Angel in the second match. The pressure was mounting for the US pair as they trailed 2-0 in the best of 5 match quarterfinal.
The turning point would prove to be a triumph, as the doubles match began. The Puerto Rican pair had just won gold in the Doubles event the day before and presented an immense hurdle for Team USA to overcome.
A last chance to stay alive in the quarterfinal, it was all or nothing. The Team JOOLA duo rose to the occasion. Naresh speaks high praise of his teammate Zhou, pointing out the exceptional balance in the match.
“Jayden really didn’t miss anything in the double match. I just played stable and kept the ball in play and well-placed, and Jayden took all of the big shots and was landing everything,” says Naresh.
With a clear 3-0 victory for the two, their hopes remained alive. However, Zhou’s impressive form was far from over as the window of opportunity for a comeback widened.
Having played Naranjo and won on a previous occasion, Zhou felt confident going into the match, and his confidence served him well. A clear-cut straight games victory would level the team tie at 2-2.
It all came down to the last match.
Naresh was ready to fight and had watched Valentine playing. He was wary of the lefty’s game style and strengths.
Serve return proved to be the weak area for the American going into game one.
“I had a hard time dealing with his serve in the opening game and he was able to unload a lot of big forehands against me as a result of my weaker serve return. This was a big factor in me losing the first set,” says Naresh, giving a rare look into his thought process throughout the match.
“In the second game I worked hard to expose him more on the wide forehand, especially with my backhand control. His footwork was a little slow moving to the wide forehand as he tends to pivot more and anchor on the corner, leaving more space open on the forehand corner and wide.”
As Naresh fought through the match, he lost the third game by a fairly clear margin, giving Valentine a 2-1 lead and a confidence boost.
Coach Cory Eider was present on the bench for the boys and emphasized the need to be more assertive on serve receive. Even with Sid’s uncertainty, Eider encouraged him to take chances: flip the ball more rather than pushing and open into the rallies rather than risk a weak serve return as a short receive against a misread service.
With that advice in hand and the support of Eider and Zhou on the bench, Naresh powered back into the match, initiating on serve receive and shifting the balance of the game in his favor. Much like the whole tie, the match was at a deadlock. 2-2.
While Naresh felt the 5th game started okay, he still trailed 6-2. However, after a couple of errors from Valentine, Naresh was able to come back and draw the score at 8-8.
Naresh stuck to his gameplan and continued the fight. With the pressure at a climax during the end of the 5th game, he made a crucial tactical change with his serve, but failed to capitalize on the easy ball.
Handling the nerves of the moment well, Naresh recollected himself, homed in on Valentine’s backhand in the rally for the next two points, and clawed home the win.
An intense encounter and a monumental comeback. From 0-2 down, the team fought back to clinch a place in the semifinals. A thrilling moment for both Sid Naresh and Jayden Zhou, along with Coach Cory Eider.
While the duo pushed hard in the semifinal, they would lose out to Brazil. Nevertheless, the elation of winning a medal in Colombia was certainly clear.
Congratulations to Sid, Jayden, and Cory. The teamwork and fighting spirit you showed on the court made us so proud here at JOOLA. It is a special moment to celebrate both a team of players and their coach, who are all part of our JOOLA family, making waves on the international stage. Brilliant performance!
