Category Archives: Tournaments

Report – Chelmsford Junior/Cadet 1 Star Ranking Tournament

Congratulations to Alex Attew and Vairavel Ramkumar who won the Junior and Cadet event respectively. Well done to Harry Buckle and Joseph Buscombe who were the runner-ups. But really, it is a big well done to all entrants, no matter where you placed. It was a pleasure to have such great kids play in the tournament and we hope everyone enjoyed the tournament – that’s the main thing.

Tournament Organiser David Gatheral has produced a comprehensive report of events which took place on Saturday 3rd September at Mildmay Sports Hall at Anglia Ruskin University. Click on the following link to view 15 pages of fantastic detail including match results / scores / player names.

Chelmsford – Junior/Cadet 1 star Ranking Tournament

Daniel Young, 17, is Chelmsford Men’s Singles Champion

Daniel Young, 17, was crowned the 2022 Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League Mens Singles Champion at Old Chelmsfordians Association on Tuesday evening in front of a large and appreciative crowd which included 10 players from the League’s Bat & Chat Session.  In what was definitely a great evening for the younger players Harry Buckle, also aged 17, was Mens Singles runner-up.

The opening game featured top seed Duncan Taylor and Daniel Young. Taylor’s cast iron defensive game is often one that Juniors struggle against. This isn’t the case with Daniel Young. Despite falling 0-5 down in the first game he won the next seven points and the first game 11-8. Duncan hit back winning the second game 11-7. Duncan looked to attack more but it was the patient Daniel who eventually ran out the winner 11-8, 7-11, 11-9, 11-7.

The second game gave the Finals Night audience their first view of Harry Buckle who played Lee McHugh. Harry started nervously but soon settled down. Despite serving into the net at 9-9 he won the first game 12-10. In the second game it was all Harry and he powered home 11-2. The third game was much better for Lee and he won comfortably 11-5. Harry started the fourth end really well and surged into a 5-0 lead, and although Lee fought back to 7-3 and 9-9 Harry sealed victory 12-10. Game, set and match to Harry 12-10, 11-2, 5-11, 12-10.

The Mens Doubles Final featured two new pairings and it was the Danbury pairing of Trevor Lloyd and Bruce Kettle who emerged as winners 9-11, 11-7, 11-4, 11-9 . After a hesitant first end they dominated and with Trevor Lloyd’s renowned forehand and Bruce Kettle’s pacy backhand calling the shots they looked to be the more likely winners, which they were.

The three down Singles Final was held over from the weekend and it featured Galleywood team-mates John Holland and Mark Glenister. Mark started the more brightly and he edged the first two games 11-8, 12-10. Was an upset on the cards ?. No, John hit back and forcing his opponent to have to scramble against his superbly executed drop shots he pulled through to win 8-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-8, 11-6. The last point perhaps captured the nature of this victory. John’s perfectly executed “drop-shot” left Mark floundering.   

The Under 19 Singles Final featured the same two players who would later contest the Mens Singles Final. It was attack, attack, attack and more third ball attack as Harry Buckle turned in a superb display to beat Daniel Young 11-9, 11-6, 11-4.  

The Veterans Singles Final featured the 2020 Champion – Gary Young and Keith Adams, surely one of the most improved players in the County in the last five years. Keith’s topspin forehand is devastating on it’s day and he looks to get in at every opportunity. Gary was never far behind and came very close to winning the third end but it was Keith who prevailed 11-9,  11-7, 16-14 to add the Veterans Singles Crown to the Over 50 Singles title he won at the Tournament weekend.

And so to the main event, the Mens SIngles Final. This time Daniel Young came out all guns blazing and won the first end 11-3. Harry Buckle fought back and won the second end 11-7. Game on.  However, it was Daniel who prevailed and after winning the third game 11-7 he surged clear to win the fourth game 11-4. Not the youngest ever Mens Singles winner but it’s still a magnificent achievement for a Junior to become Mens Singles Champion.

Steve Kerns Press Officer Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League

Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League

Duncan Taylor out to win Mens Singles title

A new venue, two new events to contend with; and the same number of entries as last time (105). The Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League Annual Championships are back after a year’s absence, at St. John Payne Catholic School, Chelmsford, CM1 4BS (Patching Hall Lane entrance) over the weekend of Friday 28 January 2022 to Sunday 30 January 2022.  Action is scheduled to finish at 18.00 hours on the Sunday evening. A big change this year is that the blue riband event – the Mens Singles will take place on the Sunday. Finals Night will take place on Tuesday 15 February 2022 at the Old Chelmsfordians Association, Lawford Lane. Refreshments – bacon rolls and sausage rolls will be available on the Saturday and Sunday mornings. Players will receive E-Mails relating to their starting times. Admission is free and it is hoped that former players pop in to watch.

Ace defender Duncan Taylor – the 2018 Champion, is the man to beat in the Mens Singles. He will face stiff opposition from second seed Keith Adams (in his first venture into the Chelmsford tournament), Trevor Lloyd, Mark Mulley, Gary Young, James Liddiard, Lee McHugh and Daniel Young. The other seeded players are Matthew Mulley, Bruce Kettle, Babul McLeod, Sam Lowman, Eric Green and Ian Whiteside. Expect a strong challenge from the up-and-coming Chelmsford Table Tennis Club Junior contingent – Harry Buckle, Charlie Craig, Josh Bickles and Saul Chivers. Group two stands out. Second seed Keith Adams takes on Wiktor Delimat and Charlie Craig. Group seven is equally competitive. Lee McHugh comes face to face with Dan Anderson and Saul Chivers.

It is difficult to see beyond Dawn Baldry in the Ladies Singles. Frances Hutt is seeded second, but Dawn will be very difficult to beat.  Nyree Marsh, runner up in 2019 will also be out to make her mark.

Gary Young / Keith Adams are the top seeds in the Mens Doubles and they are due to meet Duncan Taylor / Lee McHugh in the Final. Other pairs who you can’t  discount are brothers Mark Mulley /Matthew Mulley , Bruce Kettle / Trevor Lloyd, Daniel Young / James  Liddiard, Dan Anderson / Sam Lowman and Babul McLeod / Eric Green.  

Gary Young – the holder, is favourite for the Veterans Singles and he is scheduled to face Duncan Taylor in the Final on Finals Night. Keith Adams and Trevor Lloyd are seeded third and fourth. Young and Adams have paired together and they are expected to annexe the Veterans Doubles where they are scheduled to play Duncan Taylor and Babul McLeod in the Final. 

The Over 70s Singles is a new event this year. The evergreen Ian Whiteside is the top seed and John Holland is seeded second. John will be bidding to become the first player in the League’s history to win the Over 70s Singles as well as the events he has won in the past – Over 60s, Over 50s and Veterans Singles.

As befits the demographics of the League, the Over 50s Singles is very strong this year. Keith Adams is seeded no. one with Trevor Lloyd seeded no. two. Bruce Kettle, Babul McLeod, Eric Green, Ian Whiteside and Martin Archie make up the seeded berths.

Trevor Lloyd will be looking to retain his Over 60s title and he is seeded to play Bruce Kettle in the Final. If all goes to plan Lloyd will play Babul McLeod in the penultimate round and Kettle will play Eric Green.  

New pairing Harry Buckle and Dawn Baldry are top seeds in the Mixed Doubles and their Finals night opponents are projected to be Frances Hutt and Paul Sturton. Frances and Paul are expected to face Lee McHugh / Nyree Marsh in their Semi-Final whilst Harry and Dawn are scheduled to meet Jacqueline Smith and Robert Shrimpton.

Shirley Carroll / Dawn Baldry are strong favourites to capture the Ladies Doubles and they are seeded to play Ella Sach / Frances Hutt in the Final.

The Divisional events have been moved to the Saturday and the division two event looks particularly strong. Chris Buer is the top seed and in a very evenly matched field John Holland is seeded second. The quality of the other seeds speaks for itself – David Gatheral, Saul Chivers, Hamish Innes, Daniel Piggott, Sanjay Saptarshi and Neil Freeman. Neil Freeman’s group really is a tough one. He will face Richard Baxter and Sam Phillips.

John Holland goes again in the division three singles and he is seeded to play Hamish Innes in the Final. Again, the other seeded players are all equally capable – Sam Phillips, Dawn Baldry, Richard Baxter, Mervyn Perriman and Gary Copsey.

Mervyn Perriman is the top seed in the division four singles. The hugely promising Harry Chivers is seeded second with Denis Crapnell and David Moles making up the seeds.

David Smith is the man to beat in the division five singles with Jamie Elliot due to face him in the Final. The other seeds are Jacqueline Smith and Robert Hillis.

The Under 40s Singles is another new event this year and Junior players are not eligible. Lee McHugh is the top seed with Sam Lowman seeded second. Daniel Anderson and Robert Shrimpton are seeded third and fourth. Lowman has drawn a short straw. He faces Wiktor Delimat and Sam Phillips in his group.  Lee McHugh’s group is another strong one. He goes head-to-head with Shirish Basant Rai and Richard Storey.

The Junior Singles has become the Under 19 Singles this year following a Table Tennis England directive to take into account the fact that very little play took place last year. Daniel Young, the holder will be very hard to beat but the likes of Harry Buckle, Charlie Craig, Josh Bickles and Saul Chivers will all be out to make their mark. The Final will take place on Finals Night and it replaces the Final of the now defunct Under 21 Singles.

Another player who has made great progress -Sudheep Kamma is the favourite to win the Under 15s Singles and the other seeds are Alesha Ellis-Austin and Lotte Mills.

The Junior Doubles is being played as a “Round Robbin” event. Harry Buckle / Charlie Craig are top seeds but all of the four other pairings are worthy of mention : Nyree Marsh / Daniel Young, Vineeth Kamma / Sudheep Kamma, Saul Chivers / Harry Chivers and Nikita Tkachuk / Josh Bickles.    

In the League first division – leaders Chelmsford A produced yet another impressive performance to beat Danbury A 8-2. Gary Young won his three singles to ensure Danbury remained in charge in a match where the last three singles encounters produced some stirring battles. Babul McLeod defeated Daniel Young 11-7, 11-9, 8-11, 9-11, 14-12 and Dave Richardson got the better of Kim Shead 9-11, 12-10, 8-11, 11-9, 11-9. There was no let-up in the last game and Gary Young was hard pressed to get the better of Bruce Kettle 8-11, 11-9, 11-7, 9-11, 11-8. Danbury B are third and Sam Lowman won his three singles in his side’s 6-4 win over Chelmsford C. Lowman beat Simon Jarvis, the best of the Chelmsford players 16-18, 11-4, 8-11, 11-7, 11-8.  Galleywood A made a great start against OCA A. Gary Brignall defeated Terry Dowsett 8-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-7, 11-9 and James Hicks beat Peter Hayden 15-13, 5-11, 13-11, 4-11, 11-8. Get in there.  However, OCA A reasserted themselves and with Matt Mulley (six wins out of six) winning his three singles OCA A won 8-2.   If OCA A field the likes of Mark Mulley, Matt Mulley, Peter Hayden and Terry Dowsett regularly expect them to surge up the table.

Danbury G lead the way in division two after drawing 5-5 with OCA B. Gareth Joice was the star of the show here and he produced a superb performance to beat all three Danbury players. He beat Eamon Hall in his opening game (13-11, 3-11, 11-7, 11-5) and then most impressively Sanjay Saptarshi (15-13, 6-11, 11-8, 11-9) and finally David Gatheral (4-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-8) for an excellent hat-trick of wins. Writtle C did well to beat Danbury D 7-3. Gary Ward (23 wins out of 24) is flying this Season and he produced yet another top draw performance. Wins over Gus Heath (11-5, 11-9, 11-8), Chris Buer (11-6, 11-7, 11-9) and Steve Buer (11-9, 11-4, 11-6) tell their own story. Writtle B also did well to beat the higher placed OCA B 7-3. Trevor Collin took centre stage this time. He downed the challenges of Trevor Carter (11-9, 11-8, 5-11, 8-11, 11-6), Richard Baxter (13-11, 10-12, 11-6, 11-8) and Kevin Worthington (11-8, 11-7, 11-8). Well played again. Writtle B were also involved in a 5-5 draw with Hatfield Peverel A. No one player stayed undefeated and Writtle’s Trevor Collin and Rod Maclennan and Hatfield Peverel’s Martin Archie and Gareth Davies all won twice. Rod Maclennan’s fine win over Martin Archie (11-9, 11-7, 11-5) stood out on this occasion. In another match where no single player stayed undefeated Danbury E beat OCA C 6-4. OCA’s Mick Richardson and David Porter and Danbury’s Dick Wyman and Tony Forster all bagged two wins. Tony Forster had given Danbury a winning start by getting the better of Mick Richardson 10-12, 11-9, 11-7, 4-11, 11-8.       

Galleywood B are back on track to win division three. They powered their way past Chelmsford E 9-1. Gary Copsey and John Holland were both undefeated. Maldon A are second, and they beat Hatfield Peverel B 7-3. Hamish Innes won his three singles at a canter. Danbury H did well to beat the higher placed Chelmsford F 6-4 . Dave Powell led the way with three wins whilst Dave Hancox beat Luke Richardson 12-14, 3-11, 11-6, 12-10, 11-9 in the closest game of the night.    

Danbury L have moved into pole position in division four but they won’t gain too much satisfaction from their 9-1 win over Chelmsford G who only had one player. Vasile Barbulet certainly made his  mark with his fine 11-9, 11-1, 11-6 win over Mervyn Perriman.  Teamwork won the day as OCA E beat Highwood A 6-4. Farooq Ahmed, David Newman and Russ Hall came out on top although Melanie Bonnett remained undefeated. She beat David Newman 3-11, 16-14, 8-11, 11-6, 12-10 and in an even closer finish she saw off Farooq Ahmed 5-11, 13-11, 11-8, 5-11, 18-16. That’s getting your money’s worth.  Neil Thompson was undefeated as Writtle E beat Galleywood C 7-3. Thompson completed his trio of wins with a 12-10, 11-7, 9-11, 5-11, 11-7 victory over Colin Blore.

OCA F climbed into second place in division five with their superb 9-1 win over Hatfield Peverel E. David Bishop, Bob Francis and Stuart Wintle won all nine singles. Curiously the doubles went astray and Gary Simmonds and Deb Ginn came out on top 10-12, 11-8, 8-11, 11-9, 11-6 against David Bishop and Bob Francis.  Danbury M also won 9-1.  Paul Thirkettle, Ken Wilding and David Smith beat Chelmsford J.  Paul Thirkettle fought back strongly from 2-1 down to get the better of Paul Bullock 6-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-3, 11-2.  Danbury N complete this week’s results with their 7-3 win over Hatfield Peverel A. Graham Naggs led the way with three wins whilst Steve Martin came out on top in the night’s closest game with a 11-7, 8-11, 11-6, 6-11, 14-12 win against Kath Little.

Steve Kerns / Press Officer / Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League

Essex Junior Closed Results

The Essex Junior Closed was held at BATTS Harlow on Sunday 5 January 2020. By the Closing Date of 10 December there was a doubt that the event would be held but with twenty late entries accepted the event went ahead with 67 entries. The order of play of the events had to be changed from last year with the increased number of girl entrants. The opening events were the Under 11 Open (Boys and Girls), three less than last year, the Under 18 Restricted Boys (two less than last year) and space to squeeze in the Under 15 Girls event, an event that only attracted one entrant last year. These three events could be played at the same time. Basically Groups of three players with the top two going through to the KO stages. This was the first year for many years to hold every event with enough players entered in each event.

 

For the Under 11 Open event there were four Groups with five girls (one girl pulled out that morning with a foot injury) and seven boys. Two girls and two boys were selected as seeds. At the Group stage every seed won their Group and only one match went to a fourth game. In the quarter finals No. 3 equal seed Scarlotte Mills (Sou) had won her first two games 13-11, 11-9 but then lost the next three games 2-11, 3-11,4-11 to Luv Goel (Che). The other three seeds won their matches 3-0. In the semi finals Luv lost to the number two seed Evie Knaapen (Sou) 11-6, 3-11, 11-3, 11-6 but in the other semi there was a titanic battle between number three equal seed Shrinand Vijayakrichnan (Sou) and number 1 seed Charles Donald (Che) in a match that literally went to the wire. Charles eventually won 11-3, 6-11, 11-7, 8-11, 15-13. In the final Charles won 11-9, 11-3, 11-8.

 

 

The Under 18 Boys Restricted event is for players who have never played for the County. There is no seeding so the Groups are luck of the draw as is the KO stage. There were five Groups as against last year’s seven.

Matches in four of the Groups were all won 3-0 and Group 2 was by far the strongest Group. In the opening match Mario Ioakim (Woodford Wells) just got the better of Noah Sage (Bur) 9, -14, 9 ,8 while in his next match he was on the receiving end, losing 9, 8, -11, -8, 8 to Joshua Bickles (Che). The final Group match between Noah and Joshua was even closer with Joshua winning the final two points to win 5, 8, -12, -9, 10. In the quarter finals two matches went the full distance,  Charlie Kauders-Boothby (Sou) overcoming Sudheep Kamma (Che) 5, -7, -5, 8, 6 while clubmates Joshua and Vineeth Kamma met in the bottom half of the draw, Joshua coming back from 2-1 down to win 9, -10, -8, 7, 6. Charlie and Joshua both lost their semi-final matches to the Colchester duo Bright Bedding and Toby McLewin respectively and Toby went on to win the final -9, 5, -8, 8, 7.

 

In the Under 15 Girls event the two seeds, Mabel Shute (Woodford Wells) and Alesha Ellis-Austin (Che) both won their Group matches comfortably. When the other two players in each Group met both matches went the full distance, Rachana Jatla (Mossford) beat Emilie Guilloux (Che) and Daniya Elfallah (Ilford) beat Evie Knaapen. In the final Mabel beat Alesha 7, 7, 6.

 

The next events were the Under 13 Boys and Girls events. Only five boys Groups as against eight Groups last year. For the girls nine entrants this year as against only three last year. Maliha Baig had requested to be allowed to play in the boys events for experience and which would enable other girls the opportunity of winning events. The request was granted. Four of the five seeds won their Group, the fifth seed had withdrawn as he was required to play football. Number 2 seed Joseph Buscombe (Sou) was defeated by Rees Christina (Woodford Wells) -9, -8, 3, 5, 5 in the quarter final and then Rees lost to Maliha 6, 4, -12, 8 in the semi-final. In the other semi top seed James Donald (Che) beat Sudheep 8, 9, 8. The final was a thriller with some terrific high speed rallies keeping the spectators aghast. Maliha eventually won -7, 8, -9, 6, 2.

 

Meanwhile the four seeds in the Under 13 Girls event were winning their Groups at a more leasurely pace and all matches by 3-0 margins. Mabel, Evie and Alesha all won their quarter final matches but Katie Tanner (Sou) lost to Rachana Jatla 3-1. Sister Sarah also lost to Evie 3-1. In the Semi’s Mabel a comfortable 3-0 win over Rachana, but the other Semi went to five games, Evie defeating Alesha -8, 9, 7, -6, 6. Mabel won the final 9, 5, 3.

 

The event with the largest number of entrants was the Under 15 Boys with nine Groups. Here again seven of the nine seeds winning their Groups with the other two withdrawing to play football. Two matches went to a fourth game and two to a fifth game, seed Tobie Zeffie struggling to beat Rees Christina to win his Group. At the quarter final stage top seed Ralph Pattison (BATTS) beat Joshua Bickles 8, 6, -11, 9, Ben Porter (Che) beat Toby Zeffie 11. 8, 8, James Donald beat Rees Christina 7, 3, 3, and Maliha Baig beat Liam Harris 7, 7, 4.

 

 

 

In the semi-finals Ralph beat Ben 5, 8, 5 and in a repeat of the earlier match Maliha again beat James, this time 10, 8, 7. In the final Maliha took the first game 11-7 but lost the next three games 6, 13, 2, that third game being the match decider.

 

There were nine girls in the Under 18 event this year, a major improvement on last year’s two entries. Emily Kidd (Sou) won her Group but Annabel Sweeney (Che) lost to Mabel Shute -10, -5, 9, 8, -7 to finish runner up in her Group  while Nyree Marsh (Che) was taken the full distance by Melinda Abraham Victor (Che) 8, 7, -7, -7, 4 in the last Group match to win the Group. Having beaten Melinda in the quarter final Annabel beat Emily Kidd 6, 6, 9 in the semi to get to the final and meet Nyree who had beaten Mabel 12, 6, 12 in their semi. In the final Nyree won 4, -8, 3, 5.

 

In the Under 18 Girls Restricted there were two Groups and Annabel had to withdraw from the event. Melinda defeated Joanna Gaudini (Sou) 7, 9, 12 to meet Nyree in the final. No marathon this time with Nyree winning 2, 11, 10.

 

The final event of the day was the Under 18 Boys Singles. Same number of Groups as last year. Ray Yan had to withdraw two days before with illness and the remaining seeds all won their Groups.  In the quarter finals number one seed Jaden Aulakh (Fusion) beat Toby Zeffie 9, 10, 11, Jesse Bath (Wanstead) beat Ralph Pattison 9, -5, 10, -8, 9 for a very narrow win, Daniel Zeffie (Sou) beat Toby McLewin (Col) -4, 13, -5, 7, 8 and Daniel Young (Cla) beat Joshua Bickles 6, 1, 6. In the semi finals Jaden beat Jesse -7, 9, 9, 3, and Daniel Zeffie beat Daniel Young 6, -8, 8, -10, 8. Jaden won the final 8, 7, 3 over Daniel Zeffie.

Under 18 Girls Restricted winner Nyree Marsh (left) and runner-up Melinda Abraham Victor (right) with coach Lee Mchugh

Under 18 Girls Restricted winner Nyree Marsh (left) and runner-up Melinda Abraham Victor (right) with coach Lee Mchugh

 

Under 11 Open Event winner and runner up Charles Donald and Evie Knaapen

Under 11 Open Event winner and runner up Charles Donald and Evie Knaapen

Arthur C. Clark

Essex Junior Match Secretary and Tournament Organiser.

 

Essex girls top the table

The Final round of County Junior Championship Division 1B matches were played at BATTS Harlow on Saturday 9 November 2019. For the first round of matches they had been played at Burgess Hill, Sussex, and at BATTS on 12 October to reduce travelling. Sussex 1 led the southern sub-division with six points from Dorset 1, Sussex 2 and Surrey 2 whilst the northern sub-division comprised Essex 1, Norfolk, Middlesex 1 and 2.

However, on the day before these matches were due to be played Middlesex reported that neither of their teams could field a team so they conceded their matches to Norfolk and Essex 1 leaving just this one match to be played which Essex won 10-0. Junior Division 2C were also playing their first round matches at Burgess Hill and BATTS.

The Essex team for the Final round of matches when all eight teams met at BATTS was Jaden Aulakh (702), Daniel Young (639), Ray Yan (502), Gracie Edwards (730) with Maliha Baig (378) promoted to the first team now that Tiana Dennison was no longer a Junior player, this being the same team as that that beat Norfolk. The current Ranking points of all the players are shown in red where known. After that first round match and the two concessions Essex were equal first with Sussex 1 with Dorset and Norfolk two points behind.

 

The top two teams met in the opening round of matches. Both the two opening matches went the full distance and both finished with 11-5 scores and fluctuating games. Daniel won 4, -9, 5, -7, 5 against Owen Brown (816) while Ray lost to Keigo Burnham (616) 9, -5, 5, -10, -5. Next was the first of the girls matches and these four girls were the top girls on the day.  Gracie quickly accounted for Joelle Bennett (357) 7, 10, 3 while Maliha needed four games to beat Jodie Morris (675) 7, 5, -2, 8 who she had lost to a month or so ago, so a very good win for her. Jaden won both his matches comfortably, both 3-0, against Fraser Kent (837) and Keigo while Ray did just enough to beat Owen 9, 9, 8. Maliha beat Joelle 8, 7, 8 but Gracie had to work really hard to overcome Jodie 9, -13, 7, 10. An unexpected score line win to put Essex two points ahead which could become welcome later on.

 

Surrey 2 were the new opponents who had lost all their matches in the first round of matches at Burgess Hill. It was only when writing this report that I noticed that Surrey had changed four of their team for higher ranked players. Jaden lost to Howard Onweng (801) 9, 9, 7 while on the other table Ray had lost the first game 11-4 to Ojasvii Borah (points not known) but came back strongly to win the next three games 8, 9, 9. Maliha beat Gabriela Lee 3-0 (points not known) but Gracie’s match with Yuvathi Kumar (points not known), the only Surrey player to play in the previous round of matches, went to a fifth game. In that last game Gracie trailed all the way until two consecutive points brought the score to 9-9. After Yuvathi called a time out Gracie had to save a match point but eventually won 10, -7, -9, 9, 11. Meanwhile on the other table Daniel lost to Nahom Goitom (874), the highest ranked boy om the day, 3-1 and then Ray beat Howard 3-1. Maliha’s 3, 7, 6 win over Yuvathi got the team at least a draw but alas the win could not be achieved, Gracie losing to Gabriela 7, 15, -12, 9, Jaden losing the fifth game to Nahom 11-7 and Daniel losing to Ojasvii 11, 13, 6.  With Sussex 1 beating Middlesex 1 6-4 Essex now only had a one point lead.

 

Dorset were a boy and girl player missing so Essex starting the match 4-0 up. Jaden and Maliha soon made that 6-0 with 3-0 wins over Nathan Carlton (345) and Sophie Storey (272) respectively. Daniel then lost to Jamie Blair (856), the second highest ranked boy on the day, 3-1 and Ray beat Nathan 3-1. Jaden then had to play Jamie. He won the first two games 12-10 but Jamie hit back winning the next two games 4 and 7. A good start in the final game and Jaden went on to win it 11-5, a good win. With Gracie a 3-0 win against Sophie a 9-1 win the result.

 

With Sussex 1 winning their match Essex needed a draw to win the Division on Sets difference. Their opponents were Sussex 2 who had won their matches 10-0, 9-1 and 8-2 and if they beat Essex Sussex 1 could win the Division by winning against a Norfolk team who had lost their three previously matches heavily.

 

Not a good start for Essex with both Ray and Daniel each losing 3-1 to Will Mitchell Jamar McGlashan (730) respectively. Along came the cavalry to the rescue with Maliha and Gracie two easy wins against Sasha

 

 

 

O’Halloran (241) and Sacha Ward. Jaden then lost to Martin Kapusta 3-0 but the match of the match was that between Jamar and Ray. Having lost the first two games 9, 6 Ray came back to win the next two games 10 and 9. Behind all the way in the decider Ray arrived 5-10 down. Clawing back those five match points and then another he finally won that game 13-11, a welcome win towards the draw that was needed. Maliha beat Sasha Ward 3, 4, 2 and Gracie won 3-1 against Sacha O’Halloran for the five points Essex wanted. Daniel lost to Martin after leading 2-1 but Jaden finished the day with an 8, 6, 6 win over Will. Essex were champions of the Division and could look forward to promotion to the Premier Division next season. Alas Gracie and Ray will be unable to play for the team as they will no longer Junior players next season. We wish them well in their Senior careers.

 

Including the one match on 12 October  Jaden Aulakh 7 wins out of 10 matches; Daniel Young 4 out of 9; Ray Yan 7 out of 9; Gracie Edwards 8 out of 9; Maliha Baig 9outof 9.

 

FINAL TABLE

P          W         D         L          F          A          Pts

Essex 1                       7          6          1          0          59        11        13

Sussex 1                     7          6          0          1          49        21        12

Sussex 2                     7          4          0          3          44        26          8

Dorset 1                      7          3          2          2          30        36          8

Surrey 2                      7          3          1          5          44        26          7

Norfolk                                    7          2          0          5          26        44          4

Middlesex 1                 7          0          1          6          10        48         1

Middlesex 2                 7          0          1          6            6        52         1

 

 

Arthur C. Clark

Essex Junior Match Secretary

Essex Junior Closed 2017

 

The Essex Junior Closed was held at BATTS Harlow on Saturday 6 May 2017. At the Essex Committee Meeting on the evening before the Closing Date for Entries they agreed that the event would not proceed unless an agreed minimum number of Entries were received by the midnight Closing Date. Martyn Green came to the rescue when he delivered six entries to me at teatime next day. By midnight with 32 entries the event would proceed and with three last minute entries we finally had 45 entries on the day but three of these had withdrawn due to imminent exams.

The opening events were the Under 13 Boys and Under 15 Girls events. With a last minute addition there were two Groups of four and two of three. Top seeds Daniel Young (Clacton) and Akash Shah (Mossford) made their way to the final, beating Oliver Rampton (Colchester) 8, 7, 5 and Rio Teplizki (Chelmsford) -9, 9, 8, 9 respectively in the semi-finals. Earlier Jai Choudhari had beaten number 3 seed Toby Zeffie (Southend) in the Group but lost the quarter final to Rio 11, -12, 7, -5, 6. Daniel won the final -8, 7, 3, 6.

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The Under 15 Girls event should have been a round robin of six but Sophie Deng withdrew the previous day. Olivia Jones (Southend) was the winner but there was a three way tie for second place. Countback determined that Ellena Hart (Southend) was second, Mia Charles (NETTS) was third and Zara Darcy Willis (NETTS) was fourth.

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There were 7 Groups in the U15 Boys event. Second seed Jared Chelski (Colchester) was not feeling well and although he tried to play he had to withdraw part way through the first match in his Group. Top seed Jaden Aulakh (Mossford) did not drop a game on his way to the final and Diesel Harvey (BATTS) took advantage of Jared’s absence in the bottom half to reach the final having scraped through his quarter final with Daniel Young, 6, -6, 7, -9, 9. A shock in the final looked on the cards when Diesel won the first two games but Jaden came back to win -7, -5, 9, 4, 8. The other two semi Finalists were Andy Huang and Oliver Rampton (both Colchester).

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The Under 13 Girls event was almost a repeat of the U15 event, Maliha Baig (Mossford) playing instead of Mia Charles, thus still five girls in the round robin. However Ella Doddington (Colchester) sustained an injury in her second match and had to withdraw. Nine year old Maliha was the winner with Olivia Jones the runner up and Ellena Hart third.

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There were five Groups in the Under 18 Boys event and with Jared still unable to play late entrant Jack Stockdale took his place in the Group and as expected strolled through to the final. For Diesel Harvey it was a much tougher route to the final. In his Group he took five games to beat the seeded Harry Keys (Southend) and in the semi final another five to overcome Daniel Young 5, 9, -10, -5, 10. In the quarter final Daniel took five games to get past Oliver Rampton -9, 9, 6, -8, 8. With Jaz Harvey (BATTS) the only girl entering the U18 Girls event she played in this event and reached the KO stage with a five game win over Toby Deng (Colchester) but then lost in five, -7, 12, 9, -8, 7, to Connor Payne (Chelmsford). Jack won the final 8, -9, 4,6.

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For the Under 11 Open event there were six entrants but overnight this increased to seven and increased to eight just before the start. I therefore changed the event from a round robin to two Groups of four, each group played on two tables. Both Group winners Maliha Baig and Toby Zeffie won their semi finals against Sam Taylor (BATTS) 7, 5, 9 and George Davis (Southend) 2, 3, 7, -10, 5 respectively and Maliha went on to win the final 5, 5, -11, -6, 8.

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The last event of the day was the U18 Boys Restricted Singles, an event for those players who have never played for any of the Essex teams and no seeding. Five groups and in the top half of the draw Daniel Young reached another final, defeating Daniel Zeffie 5, 11, 9 in the semi. The bottom half of the draw turned out to be much tougher. Matthew Elliott (Brentwood) beat club mate Toby Kelly 11, -9, 6, 5 in the quarter final but then surrendered a 5-3 lead in his deciding game semi final with James Goddard to lose -10, 10, -8, 6, 6. In the quarters James had just managed to scrape past Harry Keys 7, 8, -9, 14 and went on to win the final -9, 6, 8, 5. I think a good day was enjoyed by all.

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My thanks to Umpire John Jennings for his stalwart duties again and Alan Wood for obtaining such nice trophies and John Andrews, Ken Field, John Jennings and Sharon for presenting the trophies. Unlike last year when the actual trophies did not arrive in time to be presented on the day, at least the trophies had arrived (only just) and could be presented but not the inscribed plates. These will now be sent through the post so the winners and runners up so they can stick the plates to the trophies.

Arthur C. Clark
Essex Junior Match Secretary and Tournament Organiser.

Essex Closed – What a success

Ken Field and Jayne Johnson report on the Essex County Table Tennis Association 2016 Closed Championships held over the 27th_29th August 2016

After a gap of some 8 years, the ECTTA Annual Closed Championships for Seniors, Vets and U21s returned.  It was held at the Rayleigh Leisure Centre, in Rawreth, home of Southend’s Annual Closed Championships.

 A good Entry of 68 Players, combined to produce a very good Championships. Our thanks go to the Staff of the Rayleigh Leisure Centre for making us so welcome and always being on hand, should any problems arise. Thanks also to Jayne Johnson for producing the various Result and Match Sheets & for organising the Control Desk for the 3 days. Running the Desk for Saturday & Monday along with Jayne and Barrie Delf was Arthur Clark.  Jayne & Ken looked after the Desk on the Sunday which was the Vets O40’s day.  Our thanks to Anthon Ranjit-Singh for the helping setting up and taking down the Match Room and helping throughout the Tournament.  Finally a big thank you to all of the Players & their families who supported these Championships.

 On Saturday we enjoyed the Men’s, Ladies & Under 21 Events.

 In the Men’s Singles Semis, we saw two five setters, with both going to the wire. In the first, Tony Halling just edged out Lukasz Lewandowski -8, -6, 6, 4, 10, but not before he had a Match Point.  A similar story in the other Semi with Josh Dye just beating Ben Warner -7, 5, 9, -9, 6.  In the Final it again it went all the way with Josh just taking the Title from Tony –6, 8, 3, -9, 8.

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In the Ladies Singles, we had a Round Robin, with Lin Roff, Gracie Edwards & Rebecca Lowman each winning two matches. In the count back the Title went to Lin who won 7 Sets, losing 3, with the Runner up position going to Gracie 7-4 and Rebecca 6-4.

The Men’s Doubles saw a good Final with Doubles specialists Gary Young & Glenn Johnson just losing out to Father and Son combination, Andrew and Tony Halling -9, 7, 5, -7, 3.

hallings

The Ladies Doubles was won by County Juniors Gracie Edwards & Rebecca Lowman, who beat Lin Roff & Tina Hutchinson 5, 5, 11.

lowman-edwards

The Mixed Doubles was also won by two of the County’s leading Juniors. Jack Stockdale and Gracie Edwards beating Norbert Fullerton & Lin Roff 8, 7, 6.

Next was the Under 21s, which saw Josh Dye repeat his victory in the Men’s Singles, beating County Junior, Sam Hume in the Final. He didn’t have it all his own way and a tight Final saw Josh just take the Title -5, 10, -5, 8, 6.

The final match on Saturday was the Level 2 Open Singles and this was won by John Cleasby, who beat Paul Pells 12, 8, -8, 7.

Day 2 of the Championships saw the Over 40s take centre stage and we enjoyed plenty of good matches.

In the Men’s Over 40s Singles, there were shocks as un-seeded Django Fung took the Title.  Django, who is more renowned as the Manager of Ronnie O’Sullivan and Judd Trump, turned his attention to Table Tennis.  In the top half of the draw, No. 1 Seed Rik James lost a close five setter to Mark Wicker, only for Mark to lose in the Semi-Final to No. 4 seed, Gary Young.  In the bottom half of the draw, there was an early shock when No. 3 seed Kevin Read, lost in straight sets to unseeded Django Fung.  Django then beat Southend Premier Player, Babul McLeod, again in straight sets.  The Final was a very tight match poised at two sets all and 9 all in the decisive fifth Set, before Django took the Title 9, -12, -5, 6, 9. This was the shock of Championships, great effort by Django.

Is this a Yellow Card moment!!

Is this a Yellow Card moment!!

The Ladies Over 40s Singles title went to Jan Fuller who beat Tina Hutchinson 9, 6, 7.  Both players have returned to our sport after many years out:  having both been leading juniors in the County.

The Over 40s Doubles was played as an Open Event. Favourites Mark Wicker and Paul Davison justified their Seeding and took the Title, beating Gary Young and Glenn Johnson 8, 8, 6.

wicker-davison

Final Event of the day was the Level 2 Over 40s Open Singles, which saw Southend Premier Players Norbert Fullerton and Richard Brown face each other in the Final. It was a very good match with Norbert just edging it 5, 11, -3, 11.

norbert

On to Day 3 we enjoyed watching the Over 50s, Over 60s and Over 70s.

There were plenty of exciting tussles and it was a great demonstration of how Table Tennis is a sport for life. Each event was played as an Open event: with the Over 50s in Groups and the Over 60s and 70s as straight knockouts.

In the O50’s Alex Abbott and Rick James met in the Final and we enjoyed watching a close five setter, with Alex just beating his long term rival and friend Rik 9, -9, 9, -2, 6.

n the O60’s, after reaching both the Men’s and Over 40s Doubles Finals, but just losing out in each, Glenn Johnson went one better this time to take the Over 60s Title, beating Peter Cranmer in the Final 7, 8, 8.

In the O70’s Peter Cranmer made up for his disappointment in the Over 60s beating Bill Smith in the Final -6, 7, 4, 9. It was great to see these two stalwarts of our game still maintaining a high standard of play.

This concluded the 2016 Essex Closed Table Tennis Championships and several of us enjoyed a final beverage in the Canteen at the Rayleigh Leisure Centre, which had been a great meeting place the whole weekend. Throughout, the staff had been so helpful and accommodating. John Dennison of Topspin Sports arrived to collect the tables and equipment and those left helped load up the Van:  including the legendary Joe Kennedy who called in on Sunday.

There has been some good feedback about these Championships which will be fed back to the Essex Management Committee and it will be up to them to decide if this event can continue.  The running of this event has to receive funding from the County due to the cost of Venues and Equipment hire.  The funds of the County are a combination of our current Funds plus the Annual Team Fees of £9.00, paid by every Local League Team that plays in our County.  This means that every registered player in Essex contributed a small part towards the running of these Championships.  So our thanks go to every player, playing in the Local Leagues of the Essex County.

We enjoyed setting up these Championships and thank all of you in what ever way it was that helped make the return of these Championships such an enjoyable weekend.

Ken Field, Chairman & Jayne Johnson General Secretary
Essex County Table Tennis Association
Organisers of the 2016 Essex County Closed Championships

Essex Closed

To all Players who play in the Essex Local Affiliated Leagues and Clubs (players must qualify to represent Essex).
 Essex County Table Tennis Association is running an Essex Closed Senior & Veterans Table Tennis Championships 
over the August Bank Holiday period of 27th, 28th & 29th August 2016.

To enter, simply respond by email:-

Stating which Events you wish to enter and fill in the relevant information. Return email to both

kenfield@sdttl.info & Jayne.Johnson@sept.nhs.uk   

 You can download the attached Entry Form HERE (Excel Form) if you wish and return it to Ken Field, the address is shown on the Entry Form.

Closing Date for Entry is Friday, 29th July 2016 and Entries will be on a first come, first served basis, with a probable maximum of 120 players each day.

The Venue is the Rayleigh Leisure Centre, Priory Chase, Rawreth Lane, Essex, SS6 9NF. There is ample free Parking, nice clean Changing Rooms and a very pleasant large Cafe. There is a good playing area, where the Closed Championships of the Southend & District Table Tennis League have been held for the past 7 years, with an average Entry of 120 players.

Directions are:- A127 towards Southend. Leave at the A130 turnoff. Then take the A1245 towards Hullbridge & Rawreth. Turn right at the 2nd Junction, which is Rawreth Lane. The Venue is half a mile along Rawreth Lane on the right, immediately behind Asda

 Play will be over 10 Tables, supplied by Topspin Sports.

Play will be continuous from 9.00 am – 6 pm each day.

The Expected Playing Schedule is:-

Saturday 27th August:-

Men’s & Ladies Singles, Men’s & Ladies Doubles, Under 21 Men & Ladies Singles. Plus an Open Plate Event for those knocked out in their Groups, or Round 1, of the Men’s & Ladies Singles.

Sunday 28th August:-

Men’s Vets Over 40s Singles, Ladies Vets Over 40s Singles, Open Vets Over 40s Doubles and an Open Plate Event for those knocked out in their Groups, or Round 1, of the Vets Men’s & Vets Ladies Singles.

Monday 29th August:-

Open Over 50s Singles, Open Over 60s Singles and Open Over 70s Singles.

All matches will be played up to 11 points and best of 5 sets and all Events will be played in Groups of 3. The Plate Events will be played on a straight Knock out basis.

The Entry Fee for each Separate Event is £ 8.00 per Singles Event, £4.00 per person for Doubles Events, Plate Events free.

Trophies will be presented each day. Note, there will be no Table Tennis England Ranking points given for these Championships, nor Cash Prizes, the aim of this Event is to provide good Table Tennis, coupled with a good Social atmosphere, as a nice start to your 2016/7 Season in Essex.

Any player under the age of 18, on the 27th August 2016, wishing to enter the Closed Championships, must enter by Entry Form and their Entry Form must be signed by their Parent or Guardian and returned to Ken Field, address is on the Entry Form.

The Southend and District Table Tennis League is running this Event on behalf of the ECTTA and therefore BACS payments and Cheques should be made payable to the SDTTL Bank Account, with eventual Profit or Loss being passed on to the ECTTA.

Payment choice as follows:-

* Payment must be received by the Closing date of Entry of the 29th July 2016.

Payment, can be made either:-

a)      By BACS payment to the Bank Account of the Southend & District Table Tennis League

Sort Code 20-79-73
Account Number 60855529

b). Or by Cheque made payable to the Southend & District Table Tennis League and sent to Ken Field, 81 The Broadway, Thorpe Bay, Southend-on-Sea, Essex SS1 3HQ

Any questions do email Jayne and/or myself.

This is the first time the ECTTA have run this Event since 2010 and it is an experiment to gauge whether it’s economical to run such an Event or not. We hope you’ll give this your full support. Even if you’re not playing, do pop in and see us.

The Dates were chosen because the Venue was available and there is nothing else going on in the Table Tennis England Calendar over that weekend, although at the very last minute, Table Tennis England have included British League Senior Division on the Saturday.

We fully realise that it’s a risky move running this Event over a National Bank Holiday period, but we are giving it our best shot and our President, Stuart Gibbs, recalls it once being run at Clacton, during the Easter Bank Holiday Weekend, with a great turnout and atmosphere.

Looking forward to seeing plenty of you there.

Best wishes

Ken Field, Chairman & Jayne Johnson General Secretary
of the Essex County Table Tennis Association.

ESSEX JUNIOR CLOSED 2016

Arthur Clark reports:-

The Essex Junior Closed was held at BATTS Harlow on Saturday 7 May 2016. At the Closing Date there were 34 entries and with the acceptance of late entries (I knew four were coming) the final entry figure was 40 as against last year’s 57. Last year’s event was held in early January so the start of exams may have been significant this year. Groups of three players in most events and even with this we overran by just over half an hour although most of this occurred in the last event.

The opening event was the Under 13 Boys but with only one Girl entering her event she was transferred to the Boys event. There were four groups (eight last year) and all entrants turned up to play. One seed failed to win his Group, Toby Deng (Col) losing to Diesel Harvey (Har) 3-0. Toughest Group was Group 1 and William Bettley (NETTS) needed five games to beat James Goddard (Sou) and come back from 5-9 down in the decider with Alana Mansfield (Har) to win the last six points. Hot favourite Jaden Aulakh (Mossford) only dropped one game on his route to the final, this to Alana in the quarter final. For William it was tougher, youngest brother James took a game of him and he needed three deuce games (10, 12, 10) to get in the final at expense of Diesel. In the final Jaden won 4, 8, 9.

U13B

There were 8 Groups in the U15 Boys event, just one less than last year, with every entrant arriving. Only Reece Harris-Griffiths (Sou) failing to win his Group, losing to the improving Diesel Harvey. Top seed Joe Walker wasted no time in progressing to the final winning all his matches 3-0. In his half number 4 seed William Bettley reached the semi the hard way, coming back from 2-0 down to beat Reece and saving a match point in the fourth game of his quarter final with Connor Payne (Che). In the semi he lost 5, 10, 9 to Joe. In the bottom half number 3 seed Syed Hussain (Eastbury) struggled to cope with Diesel, eventually winning 11, 10, -11, -8, 5 and beat number 2 seed Casey Mansfield 9, -8, 11, 6 in the semi. In the final he lost to Joe 6, 9, 10.

U15B

For the U18 Boys event there were six Groups, one up on last season, top seed Sam Hume having to withdraw overnight due to illness. Thus with the new top two seeds in the bottom half amendments were made to put these two players in opposite halves. After his exhausting matches in the previous events William Bettley withdrew just before the start of the Groups. The remaining seeds all won their Groups with Jared Chelski beating Max Plumridge in Sam’s Group. All the KO matches went with the seedings, Joe Walker defeating Justin Jeffery 3-0 in the top half semi while Jack Stockdale (Rom) beat Casey Mansfield 3-0 in the bottom half semi. In the quarter Casey had gained revenge for his U15 defeat by Syed by winning 5, -9, 9, 5. In the final a close match was won by Joe 8, 9, 10.

U18B

At the same time the U11 event was played as a round robin with three entrants, Alexander Bettley winning both his matches 3-0 against Cody Prentice (Har) and James Bettley (NETTS) with Cody taking the runners up position with a 3-1 win over James.

The last event of the day, and the most competitive, was the U18 Boys Restricted Singles, an event for those players who have never played for any of the Essex teams and no seeding. Six groups of three, against seven last year, but with a withdrawal and a player non appearance Jaz Harvey (Har) found herself the winner of Group 6 without having to play. Matthew Stringer (Sou), George Campbell (Har), Max Plumridge (Bra), Jared Chelski (Col) and Matthew Laws (Bra) the other Group winners. In the top half of the draw Jared progressed to the semi-final with a 3-0 win over Jaz where he met Dan Wills, the runner up to Matthew Stringer in their group and who had defeated Matthew Laws 3-1 in the quarter final, and defeated him 10, -8, 4, 7. In the bottom half Matthew Stringer progressed to the semi-final with a Q/F win over Max and was then engaged in a marathon semi with George Campbell which he eventually won 9, -20, 10, -7, 7. The final was another marathon going the full distance, and finally won by Matthew 6, 9, -9, -3, 5.

U18BR

I think a good day was enjoyed by all

My thanks to Umpire John Jennings for his stalwart duties and Alan Wood for obtaining such nice trophies and John Andrews for presenting the trophies. Unfortunately the actual trophies did not arrive in time to be presented on the day so a raid on Neil Brierley’s cabinet drawer provided a couple of unpresented trophies with Essex badges that were used for the presentations. I had hoped to post the trophies to the winners and runners up but they are so nice that I am wary that they could get damaged in the post so I will have to seek other ways to get the trophies to the winners.

Arthur C. Clark
Essex Junior Match Secretary and Tournament Organiser.