2009 Championships report

The Britannia table tennis club’s 2011 ‘closed’ championships took place on 7^th & 8^th. at the Dome over a very warm May 2011 weekend.

A total of 34 club member ranging in age from 7 years to 86 years competed for the ten titles up for grabs with five of the events featuring a player defending a title, and with top local league players, County and Nationally ranked amongst the competitors, the scene was set for a tantalising weekend of top table tennis action.

First up on Saturday morning were the Under13 and Junior events which included the young Sparrowhawks who attend the club’s regular weekend coaching sessions. Although the youngest competitor at just 7 years of age, Logan Trinder was up against players somewhat older and more experienced than him, he was by no means over awed and fought hard throughout the group stage. However, it was Fionnian Orrey, Alex King, Oliver Mills and Adam Firth who made it through to the under13 semi finals. Both Adam and Oliver gave of their best, but it was Fionnian and Alex who secured their places in the Sunday night scheduled final.

The Junior event included both of last year’s finalists, and with Ben Crane failing to reach the semi final stages, is was up to Kieran Watts and Kriss Brill to produce an upset if either Kieran Bean or Thomas Banham were to be denied a place in the final. However, an off form Kieran Watts gave Kieran Bean little trouble and although Kriss played well he was unable to cope with Tom’s strong forehand attack, so Sunday night’s Junior final would be a rematch of last year’s Junior final giving Kieran an opportunity to retain his title.

Saturday afternoon saw the Veteran’s 50+ and 60+ events both dominated as expected by probably the two most experienced campaigners, Ian Brown and Club Chairman, Ken Lewis. In the 50+ semi finals, Tim Diss lost out to Ian, Tim unable to overcome Ian’s long pimpled defensive strategy. In the other semi, Bob Jennings gave Ken more than a few surprises with his unorthodox attack, but Ken was in top form and joined Ian in tomorrow night’s final. There were no surprises either in the 60+ event, and although Bob Jennings this time faced Ian in the semi final, Bob like Tim was also unable to penetrate Ian’s dogged defence. With Paul Packwood losing out to Ken in the other semi, it meant that the 60+ final tomorrow night would also be Brown versus Lewis.

First event on Sunday was the Restricted singles group matches which produced the first major upset of the championships. Whilst Jason Annal, Ken Lewis, Tim Diss, three of the top four seeds progressed to the quarter finals, unseeded Sonja Talbot enjoyed a superb three straight sets win over the fourth seed Brian Amos. This resulted in an intriguing quarter final line up with three of the top seeds now in the same half of the draw, along with Andrea Alleyne. Having already lost a group match, Brian seeded four wasn’t about to give in easily, himself causing an upset, by knocking out number one seed Jason for a place in the semi finals. Third seed Tim made no mistakes in beating Andrea to set up a semi final with Brian. In the other half, Sonja met Mark Tucker recently returned from a long absence from table tennis, and although there were some long rallies during which there were signs of the ‘old’ Mark, Sonja progressed to the semi finals. The last of the quarter finals saw number two seed, Ken Lewis, facing last year’s winner of this event, Lucy Zhu. Although a fast improving youngster, Lucy now ranked Nationally at 6 in the cadets, was unable to cope with the deceptive long pimpled returns from Ken, and Ken progressed to a semi final place against Sonja. Both semi finals produced interesting table tennis, with Tim coming back from a game down to beat Brian and Sonja losing out to Ken at deuce in the fourth to set up a final between Diss and Lewis, Diss reaching the final for the second year in succession.

The second major upset of the championships happened in the Veterans 40+ event, when in the quarter finals, number one seed Wayne Shaw having won the first game was beaten by Ian Brown who took the next three games. A further upset looked to be on the cards when Tim Diss took the first game against Andy Holmes, but Andy rallied taking the next three to join Ian in the semi’s. The third quarter final was also a close affair. Brian Amos raced away to a two game lead over Ken Lewis, but Ken fought back to two all. The deciding game went to the wire with Brian securing a semi final place at deuce in the fifth. Number two seed and defending champion, Andy Warner, came through the last of the quarter finals with a comparatively easy win over Ray Zhu. Andy Holmes dominated the first of the semi finals, and although Ian Brown took the third game, Andy took the fourth with ease to book his place in the final. The other semi followed a similar pattern with Andy Warner taking a two game lead, and although Brian Amos managed to take the third end, it was Andy who won the fourth to ensure he reached the final giving him the chance to defend his title.

The top four seeds in the Men’s singles, Ryan Collins, Wayne Shaw, Andy Warner and Gary Young respectively, all made it through the group stages along with the group runners up, Andy Holmes, Ken Lewis, Ian Brown and Brian Amos. In the quarter finals, defending champion, Ryan, made few mistakes against Brian, though Brian did manage to take the third game, Andy Warner cruised past Ken in three straight, as did Gary against Andy Holmes. The fourth quarter final was a repeat of the Veteran’s 40+ clash between Wayne and Ian, giving Wayne an opportunity to avenge his earlier surprise defeat. However, although Wayne won the first game, as in their previous encounter, Ian took the next three games to secure a place in the semi finals and bring about the third major upset of the championships.

In the Ladies singles, Andrea Alleyne and Nicola Perrins were both up against more experienced players, Sonja Talbot and Lucy Zhu, and although both Andrea and Nicola fought hard, they were unable to stop Sonja and Lucy progressing to the Ladies final.

The Pot Luck Doubles draw produced some interesting pairings and although a fun event, resulted in some seriously competitive games being played. In the top half of the draw, the clear favourites, Mark Lewis partnered with Jason Annal, reached the semi final with apparent ease, though Sonja Talbot partnered by Mark Tucker did manage to take a game off them. It wasn’t the same though for their semi final opponents, Paul Packwood partnered by Ryan Collins as they were taken to a fifth end by Brian Amos partnered by Keiran Bean, Paul and Ryan squeezing through at deuce. It was similar to for Nicola Perrins partnered by Ken Lewis in the bottom half of the draw as they scrapped past Ray Zhu partnered by Andy Holmes by the tightest of margins in another five set marathon. Lucy Zhu partnered by Tim Diss completed the semi final lineup with wins over Andy Warner partnered by Bob Jennings, and Gary Young partnered by Andrea Alleyne. Both semi finals produced some fine table tennis with long rallies and both were decided at 3 games to 1, resulting in a final between Ryan and Paul versus Tim and Lucy.

And so to the finals which commenced as scheduled at 6pm in front of an enthusiastic audience.

The Under 13 Singles final was between Fionnian Orrey and Alex King. After a hesitant start, Fionnian slowly began to dominate the rallies. However, Alex hung in and was a little unlucky not to take the second game. Fionnian’s greater experience showed through in the third and he ran out a comfortable winner to take the under 13 title.

The Junior Singles final was a much closer affair, with Kieran Bean seeking to retain the title which he won last year. Thomas made the early running and eased to a one game lead. However, Kieran fought back to take the next two games and it appeared he had gained the upper hand. Thomas though was looking to avenge his defeat at the hands of Kieran in last year’s final and after securing an early lead in the fourth game, Thomas hung on well to take the match to a deciding end. With little to choose between them, Thomas again took an early lead and after some long and entertaining rallies held on to take the match, successfully avenging last year’s defeat and denying Kieran the opportunity to retain the title.

Next to be played were the Men’s Semi finals, defending champion Ryan Collins versus Andy Warner, and Gary Young versus Ian Brown. Both produced some superb table tennis with Ryan’s strong forehand loops proving just too much for Andy to handle, and Gary’s backhand topspin and dogged determination taking him through against Ian.

The Veteran’s 70+ final featured the championships oldest competitor, Paul Packwood, and the comparative youngster Brian Blagden, Brian being some 12 years younger than Paul. With their combined ages totalling 160 years, the table tennis was of course a little more sedate than that of the previous matches, but Paul was by no means unable to match the fitness of his younger opponent and the match clearly demonstrated that table tennis is a sport which can still be enjoyed even when players reach more advanced years, Brian overcoming Paul’s angled forehand attack to secure the title.

In the Veteran’s 60+ final, Ian Brown went into the match against his former team mate Ken Lewis having already been beaten by Ken on three occasions earlier during the weekend, and with a history of long, tough previous encounters between them. From the start, Ian dominated the rallies by forcing Ken onto his more defensive backhand, and with Ken showing signs of fatigue was unable to get into position to play his own strong forehand attack. When Ian took the first two games, it appeared Ken could do little to stop a straight sets defeat, however, he threw caution to the wind and lifted heavy topspin balls to Ian’s forehand which enabled him to take points with his own forehand and claw his way back into the match. Ken took the initiative in the deciding fifth game with some powerful forehands and with Ian taking only occasional counter hit winners, Ken closed out the match to take a well earned title.

The Veteran’s 50+ final was a repeat of the 60+ final with Ian again facing Ken and again taking the first game. However, Ken’s dominance over Ian throughout the weekend continued with his main tactic of lifting topspin balls to Ian’s forehand continuing to cause Ian trouble, enabling Ken to claim his second title of the championships.

In the Veteran’s 40+ final, defending champion Andy Warner was up against the difficult style of the experienced Andy Holmes, and it was Holmes who took the early initiative with an array of backhand drop shots and forehand drives which took him quickly to a two game lead. With what appeared to be a huge upset looming, Warner moved into gear, retrieving Holmes forehand drives and countering with his classic and at times unbelievable backhand kill. Turning the match on its head, Warner took the next three games losing only 7 points in the process to retain his title.

Whilst the Pot Luck Double event may be considered to be a fun event, it is nevertheless keenly contested, and this year’s final must rank as being one of the best. The pairing of the current Britannia men’s singles champion Ryan Collins with the oldest championship competitor, Paul Packwood versus last year’s Restricted singles winner and runner-up, Lucy Zhu and Tim Diss, produced a first class match, played in a superb sporting manner thoroughly enjoyed by the spectators. Lucy and Tim took the first game only to find themselves 2-1 down by the end of the third, and when the fourth went to Paul and Ryan, it was anyone’s guess as to who would take the title. Throughout the match the rallies were fast, long and highly entertaining, and eventually Paul and Ryan won the vital fifth game to take the title.

Tim Diss was again in action in the Restricted final. Having been runner-up last year, Tim was hoping to go one better this year against Ken Lewis, already the winner in two earlier finals. With both players having much more than just this title to play for, and both feeling the effects of a long weekends table tennis, it was clear from the start that both were playing with added caution which reflected on the play. Although Tim took the first game, Ken’s resolve, resilience and consistency saw him through and he won the next three games to take the title and complete a superb championship hat-trick.

The Ladies singles final featured Sonja Talbot up against rising star junior and winner of last year’s Restricted singles, Lucy Zhu. Whilst Lucy had already beaten Sonja in the group stages, Sonja had the game to cause Lucy problems, and with Sonja being left handed, it would be interesting to see if Lucy would be able to cope. Sonja started strongly and lead the opening rallies but failed to capitalise and gradually Lucy took control. Having lost the first, Sonja needed a good start in the second, but once again her nerves got the better of her and she allowed Lucy to continue to dominate and take the second. Lucy with her controlled forehand and backhand consistency took the third and with it the Ladies singles title.

To complete the championships, Ryan Collins faced Gary Young in the Men’s Singles final. Previous contests between these two players have been close though Ryan always has been the victor in recent times, and there were to be no surprises here as Ryan stamped his authority on the contest blasting awesome forehand topspin winners past Gary with consummate ease to take the first game. The second game continued in much the same vane as the first, and although Gary improved as the match progressed, he was unable to deal effectively with Ryan’s shear power, and Ryan closed out the match in three straight to retain his title.

CHAMPIONSHIP STATS :

34 players completed a total of 10 events.

A grand total of 152 matches were played during the weekend.

Youngest competitor – 7 year old Logan Trinder

Oldest competitor – 86 year old Paul Packwood.

Bob Jennings completed 18 matches on Sunday.

Paul Packwood completed 16 matches on Sunday.

Ian Brown completed 22 matches over the week-end.

Tim Diss completed 21 matches over the week-end.

Ken Lewis completed a staggering 26 matches over the week-end.

TOP PERFORMANCES :

Ryan Collins retained his Men’s singles title.

Andy Warner retained his Veteran’s singles title.

Unseeded Sonja Talbot defeated fourth seed Brian Amos.

Brian Amos reached 1xquarter final, 2 x semi finals, and defeated number 1 seed Jason Annal.

Ian Brown reached 2 x semi finals and 2 x finals, and twice defeated number 2 seed Wayne Shaw.

Ken Lewis completed a championship ‘hat-trick’ winning Restricted singles, Veteran’s 50+

and Veteran’s 60+ titles.

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Kieran Bean triumphed over Thomas Banham to be the top boy; Rebecca Diss was outclassed by Natalie Wells, who became top girl. Ryan Collins showed that he’s got what it takes to be top man; Andy Warner hung on to his claim to be top vet; Andy Holmes claimed the title as top 50+ vet; and Lucy Zhu not only dominated ‘Pot Luck’ with Collins, but showed that she was no Charlie’s Angel (I know, that was Lucy Liu !) when she triumphed in the restricted.

The weekend of Saturday 8^th May & Sunday 9^th May 2010 saw some cracking table tennis being played over the two days by club member ranging in age from 11 to 70+.

Day one provided some spectacular table tennis being played by some of the clubs youngsters.

In the girls’ singles event, Rebecca Diss and Natalie Wells progressed to the final by safely negotiating the group stages. Rebecca was the less experienced of the two girls but nevertheless demonstrated that she was learning the game well. Both girls played some good shots but Natalie was clearly the more consistent player on the day, winning 5-11, 4-11, 3-11 to take the title.

In the boys’ singles event, Kieran Bean, Kriss Brill, Kieran Watts and Thomas Banham progressed to the semi final by powering their way through the group stages, with Thomas and Kieran (Bean) looking particularly impressive.

The final which produced some exciting and highly entertaining table tennis, Keiran (Bean) who beat Kriss Brill in a close semi-final, continued to dominate his opponent, Thomas Banham who had earlier beaten Keiran Watts in the other semi.

Each of them played some very good table tennis at this level, and although Thomas was the more attacking of the two, Kieran demonstrated a more (Andy) Warner style of play, which seemed to work well in this game, Keiran winning the Boy’s Single title 11-8, 8-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-9.

The continuation of the event on Sunday saw yet more exciting table tennis being played at a very high standard. Whilst some results were expected, there were also some major upsets.

Bob Jennings and John Seabrook, the two oldest competitors taking part, contested the 60+ Vets final with Bob Jennings causing an upset by beating Club Vice Chairman John Seabrook 13-11, 11-7, 11-7.

The 50+ Vets event was won by Andy Holmes, who beat Tim Diss in the final 11-6,11-3, 11-4.

Andy Warner retained his Veterans title after a narrow semi final escape with two wicked ‘nets’ against Club Chairman, Ken Lewis, beating Andy Holmes in the final 11-2, 7-11, 11-6, 14-16, 11-5.

Ryan Collins showed just how good he really is, hardly being pushed in winning the Men’s Singles title beating Andy Warner in the final 8-11, 11-0, 12-10, 15-13.

The star of the whole event was undoubtedly 13 year old Lucy Zhu. Teaming up with Ryan Collins, Lucy and Ryan bulldozed their way to the final of the Pot Luck Doubles event where they met Andy Holmes and Bob Jennings, comfortably winning 11-3, 11-4, 9-11, 11-6.

Lucy Zhu continued in a rich vein of form, demonstrating resilience and a good all round game to cause a huge upset beating Brian Amos in the semi final of the Restricted Singles.

An even bigger upset was to follow as Lucy met Tim Diss in the final in an intriguing battle which ended with Lucy winning the title 11-8, 11-8, 5-11, 13-11.

Superb results for Lucy, probably the youngest ever winner of the Restricted Singles title, and who is without doubt a very talented young lady and a name to watch out for in the future.