Essex Press Office

Reported by Steve Kerns
Press & Publicity Officer
Essex County Table Tennis Association

Essex based player John Dennison reports on an exciting south London event. Look for the Essex names amonst the players.

A Fusion of exhilarating World Class Table Tennis comes to South London.

Top quality table tennis came to South London with the 2nd Fusion All Star open played at The Harris Girls Academy, Homestall Road, East Dulwich. With a field of 80 men and 40 Juniors competing for glory and the chance of winning over £1125 in prize money and £400 for the open winner the Fusion entry attracted an eclectic mix of players ranging from local South London school kids to players from as far a field as Sweden and the Czech Republic. Many of the kids had just started out on their table tennis journey and this was a first taste of the delights that table tennis has to offer. Many of the players taking part included local kids who are junior members of Fusion, juniors from the local London TTK schools and there was also a strong entry from Peniel Academy in Brentwood lead by the effervescent John Holland & Sean Gibson.

The top 8 seeded players in the open event consisted of Saubana Ayemojuba & Sule Olaleye ex Nigerian Internationals currently playing professionally in Europe, the current Scottish no1 Gavin Rumgay, ex Lithuanian champion Lorestos Trumpuskas, Hungarian star Gergely Urban, 2 English top 20 players John Holland and Fusion regular and British League player Tom Cutler and Cameroon international Herbert Noah.

Being staged in London which is such a fantastic melting pot of people and cultures it was great to see this reflected in the entry with everyone coming together, united by their shared passion for table tennis. With all the ingredients in place the Fusion all star didn’t disappoint and served up a gourmet feast of table tennis that was every bit as good as the delicious Chicken Curry and Jamaican Brown Eagle Chicken Curry rice and peas served up through out the day!! Levi Roots you have been warned your reggae reggae sauce has some serious competition in South London!!!

Junior Open Singles

The junior event started off proceedings. Many of the youngsters were playing in their first ever season and some their first ever tournament. The talent on display, the spectacular matches and the brilliant shot makings are what can make and inspire Olympians to reach for gold in the 2012 Olympics. Hopefully more events like this will keep the fire burning in the hearts and minds of the young sports men and women.

The junior final saw the No.1 seed and local lad from Battersea Chris Lewis come up against the No.2 seed Vytas Rybakas originally from Lithuania and currently training at the Bristol Academy. With play suspended in the rest of the tournament to generate an electric atmosphere. The players were given the limelight and a taste of a big match atmosphere, with all the local kids cheering their idols on. This turned out to be a great battle of mental strength and table tennis styles.

Chris got off to a lighting start winning the first end with his unbelievably quick counter attacks and reaction play – all the more impressive considering that Chris doesn’t even glue up!!! When the glue ban comes into place Chris could be a very dangerous player indeed – however the battling Vytas was down but not out. The backhand loop was the equalizer, a weapon of destruction. With a display of brilliant shot making Vytas turned the tide. There is a saying “who dares wins”, but in this case we need to also coin the phrase “who sweats”, “who plans”, and “who fights” will become the victor. Vytas fought tooth and nail showing a mature character to win a dramatic and spectacular match. The final was a fitting climax to a very exciting Junior event.

Senior Open Singles

The Semi final of the open event matched up the top 4 seeds.
The first semi was between the no1 seed the silky smooth Sule Olaleye against the craft and guile and big serving Scottish warrior Gavin Rumgay. The second semi saw the current World no 312 and no 2 seed Saubana Ayemojuba, who has a lightning forehand and destructive power, take on the Lion from Lithuanian with a big heart and even bigger backhand Lorestos Trumpuskas.

In the first semi Rumgay got away with a great start winning the first end against Olaleye – serving magnificently with his reverse side spin serve (after the game many of the spectators commented that they didn’t have a clue what spin was on the ball so it was not surprising that the No.1 seed was also frequently bamboozled – Gavin actually started off playing tennis with Andy Murray and if the funding had been forthcoming we may have seen him a little further West on the green grass of Wimbledon – if his tennis serve was anything like his table tennis one he would surely have been the Scottish Rudseski of tennis with the retrieving skills of Nadal!!!) and following up with a very spiny forehand topspin. He was also mixing his game up with some spectacular topspin defence from the barriers and even the odd backspin defence this was a master class of variety.

Olaleye had the superior fire power on both wings and hit the ball effortlessly with supreme timing but the crafty Scot played tactically a brilliant game and with Olaleye never mastering the Rumgay serve which allowed him to follow up with his forehand this proved to be the decisive factor and just saw him through 3-1 to the disappointment of many of Olaleye’s fans – sorry Mr Beckley maybe next year!!!

In the Second semi final the No2 seed Saubana Ayemojuba looked like he was cruising to a comfortable victory. He won the first 2 ends with ease. With his rocket like forehand he totally dominated, and looked to have too much power for Trumpuskas. However those who knew the Lithuanian Lion new he wasn’t going to go down easily. Finding inspiration from somewhere and with his home supporters willing him on, somehow he managed to take the 3rd end. Could the tide have turned? Trumpuskas started to serve tighter and get his destructive backhand into play. An intriguing battle of power against the spiny backhand just saw Trumpuskas hold onto the last couple of points in the 5th end to squeeze through 11-9.

The final was a fitting finale to an exceptional day’s table tennis and reunited a rivalry between two great characters. Rumgay had just edged out Trumpuskas in the Sussex GP a couple of weeks earlier 11-9 in the 5th. Trumpuskas was after revenge and the £400 pot!!!

Trumpuskas set off like a train forcing Rumgay away from the table with tremendous topspin play from both wings – the Lithuanian Lion was on fire, the question was could he sustain this level or would the younger Scots superior fitness come into play. Trumpuskas took a 2-0 lead with some tremendous play. At one point Trumpuskas had Rumgay away from the table smashing from side to side. Trumpuskas believed he had hit a clean winner but some how Rumgay flicked the ball back, Trumpuskas was totally out of position and had to run backwards racing after the high top spinning bouncing ball but somehow got his racket on it and at the same time almost falling over smashed the ball away for a winner.

The Scott wasn’t going to give this up without a fight and drawing on all his experience and craftsmanship he gradually took the ascendancy. His serve started to come more and more into play and he gradually became more aggressive and started dominating with his own topspin play. The gruelling rallies that Trumpuskas did win after 4 or 5 big shots started to sap the big man’s strength. It looked to be all over as Rumgay squared it to 2 all and took an 8-1 lead in the 5th end…..

Then the unexpected happened, the slumbering & lumbering Lithuanian Lion came back to life. Throwing caution to the wind and through sheer strength of character started to regain his form and rhythm. Playing flat out with forehand and backhand topspin play he somehow fought his way back into the game. Point by point Gavin’s lead narrowed! Trumpuskus could sense blood and those who know him knew he wasn’t going to give up the £400 prize easily…!!! Some of the Fusion locals might even get a drink out of him after all!!!

Somehow from 10 – 6 down in the 5th he pulled it back to deuce and unbelievably turned it around to 11-10 and match point – the hall erupted with disbelief!! Match point to Trumpuskus and serving as well. His tactic was clear, serve tight and topspin the next ball at all cost…. The serve drifted long with little spin and the Scottish Braveheart smacked a fierce forehand loop, and in a blink of an eye the match point had been saved.
Rumgay knew he had escaped – would he now be able to seize the initiative again? He served an unplayable reverse backspin serve and clinched the next point on Trumpuskus serve to seal a memorable win in an unforgettable match of drama, passion & excitement!!!

What a fitting climax to an unforgettable day’s table tennis. Surely more occasions like this will raise the profile and standard of table tennis. With the London 2012 Olympics only 5 years away Fusion plans to build on this success and embracing the ethos and spirit and dreams of Olympic sport, embracing the grass roots enthusiasm of locals young and old alike they plan to use this as a stepping stone for bigger and better events and days ahead.

The tournament organisers would like to send a big thank you out to;
- Andrea and Mel for the delicious food served throughout the day and also the extra help serving breakfast in the morning from Oscar Selfridge & Billy Deville mums.
- Everton who kindly provided The PA system and projector playing table tennis DVD’s throughout the day.
- The voluntary umpiring of the Peniel Academy Juniors which was really appreciated and helped with the smooth running of the tournament.
- The sponsorship provided by Bribar Sports and Thornton Sports who provided valuable support and equipment. Fusion really appreciates their continued support.
- The sponsors who contributed to the prize fund – Nouv-let Hairstylists & Brown Eagle Restaurant.
- All the players and supporters who made it such a memorable and inspiring day.
- And finally a big thank you to Martin & John who were the unsung heroes who devoted their time and through their commitment and enthusiasm made this event happen…..and even happily stepped down from playing to referee and organise on the day.

Finally our aim is to double the prize money each year until the Olympics in 2012. So, hopefully we will see you all back at the even bigger and better 3rd Fusion Allstar next year!!!!

Regards
Fusion TT