Two of Hawai`i’s young and rising stars in pickleball are representing Selkirk on the main stage at the PPA Asia Fukuoka event this week.
One to watch: 14-year-old Shimabukuro
14-year-old Tama Shimabukuro battled his way through qualifiers in men’s singles, coming out on top of the 67-player field. Now in the main draw, Shimabukuro’s first test will be fellow US player and PPA North America veteran, Tyler Loong.
Shimabukuro also teamed up with Selkirk’s Xiao Yi Wang-Beckvall to take on a full field of talent in the qualifiers. In the quarterfinals, the duo defeated PPA North America’s Ekaterina Biakina and her partner, Clemens Graute, 11-4, 11-8. Shimabukuro and Wang-Beckvall now face a first-round main draw challenge against Pei-Chuan Kao and Tyler Loong.
Wang-Beckvall looks to extend success in PPA Asia
Wang-Beckvall has been on a hot streak on the PPA Asia Tour, following two standout performances in Malaysia and, most recently, Hong Kong. She captured her first PPA gold medal alongside Jamie Wei in Malaysia and added a silver medal with Yufei Long in Hong Kong last week. In Fukuoka, Wang-Beckvall will pair up with Yu-Chieh Hsieh, with whom she has already found success in the PWR League.
Tune in
Don’t miss the action from Fukuoka, Japan on the PPA Asia YouTube livestream!
