A quarterly, independent, magazine from the world of English Table Tennis. Issue 11 Editorial Early Summer 2018

Transcription

1 Table Tennis Times A quarterly, independent, magazine from the world of English Table Tennis Issue 11 Editorial Early Summer 2018 Welcome to the latest issue of Table Tennis Times. This one has a lot of tournament reports from an incredibly busy time for our National teams, and gives some indication of how fit the players nowadays have to be to keep up with the schedules. All these events have resulted in a bumper issue. We have two guest articles this time, a report from Alan Ransome of the machinations at the highest level of our sport from his attendance at the ITTF AGM in Halmstad, and an intriguing insight from Ken Mathews from his time as the Manager of the England International Squad. We are grateful to them both and hope you enjoy their contributions. As usual Diane has included her popular features, Did You Know and What was Happening which this time features years ago. Regretfully, there are a number of obituary s to record the passing of some of our great friends and colleagues. They will all be missed but not forgotten. Again, as is often the case we are indebted to an ever growing number of photographers who allow us to use their images which we hope you agree enhances our efforts. There is a nice piece on the retirement of Kelly Sibley from International duty to which she said I feel that now is the right time to call it a day and what better way than to go out on a high at the Commonwealth Games. What better time indeed Kelly, we will miss watching you play but know we will still see you from time to time and look forward to that. Table tennis takes a back seat for a while whilst we get ready for Wimbledon and following the England football team at the World Cup. However, it won t be long until the new table tennis season gets underway and until then we wish you all a pleasant summer. Best wishes Harvey Webb ETTA Honorary Life Member Member of the SCI Diane Webb ETTA Vice-President 1

2 Team World Cup Report What a feast of table tennis there was at the Copper Box, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park when the Team World Cup came to London from 22 nd -25 th February 2018 with many of the world s best participating. With representation from all continents it did mean there were some teams who were relatively quite lowly ranked in the world order, so a mixed field. The competition started with 12 teams for each of the Men s and Women s Team events. Due to Timo Boll (Germany) and Simon Gauzy (France) withdrawing late in the day the team rankings for the men were amended and this was very much in England s favour as it now placed them in eighth ranked place and so in the second ranked position in their group rather than third. As expected China and Japan dominated their group matches and had comfortable wins in both events. There was a surprise in Men s Group C, however, as South Korea beat Germany which pushed Germany into second place in that group. This had serious repercussions for them in the knock out draw. Men s Group D also did not go to plan as Brazil headed this group followed by Hong Kong China, the fourth seeds. Maria Tsaptsinos and Kelly Sibley. Photo by Alan Man. Tin-Tin Ho. Photo by Michael Loveder. In the Women s Groups the top four seeded teams all won their groups but the USA and DPR Korea had a good tournament to finish in second place and so went through to the main draw at the expense of Egypt and Brazil. England s ladies: Tin-Tin Ho, Kelly Sibley and Maria Tsaptsinos put up a good fight against Hong Kong China and Singapore but the two Asian teams proved too strong for them and so they did not proceed into the knockout rounds. Men s Groups A B C D China Japan Germany Hong Kong Sweden England South Korea Brazil France Egypt Australia USA Women s Groups A B C D Japan China Hong Kong Chinese Taipei Egypt Brazil Singapore Romania USA North Korea England Australia 2

3 England Men s campaign started against Japan, the number two seeds, with all their players in the world top 30. Although the men went down fighting the end result was not unexpected. However, Liam Pitchford started with the first of an incredible set of results and some of the finest table tennis by an Englishman on home soil. He demolished the young star, Tomokazu Harimoto (WR 11) 11, 8, 5 and although lost to Koki Niwa (WR 6) it was a good match. Paul Drinkhall and Sam Walker only just lost the doubles and Paul lost his singles match against Jin Ueda (WR 27). Next up were Egypt who for some reason didn t play their top player, Omar Assar (WR 17). It was still a tough match with Paul Drinkhall losing to Ahmed Saleh (WR 151) in five but claiming the doubles with Sam Walker. The two singles wins came from Sam Walker and Liam Pitchford both against Mohamed El- Beiali (WR 116) which gave the win to England and so put them through to the Quarter-finals. Sam Walker. Photo by Chris Rayner. Paul Drinkhall. Photo by Roger Hance. With Germany finishing in second place in their group and with the team already weakened with no Timo Boll their strength was further reduced when Dimitrj Ovtcharov was unable to continue and had to pull out of the match against China in the Quarter-finals. With a fully fit squad this could have been a fascinating match but the depleted German side went down to an on form China 3-0. England were up against Brazil, the unexpected winners of Group D, and the England men certainly took advantage of this fortuitous draw when they came away victorious with a 3-1 win. Liam Pitchford continued his impressive display beating both Hugo Calderano (WR 16) and Eric Jouti (WR 92). Paul Drinkhall had another close match but again lost in five to Gustavo Tsuboi (WR 66) but the doubles partnership with Sam Walker bore fruit and so a Semi-final spot awaited. In the other two Quarter-finals the contest between Japan and Hong Kong China was a close call with Japan pulling through 3-2 whilst France s squad which was not at full strength put up a tremendous fight just losing 3-2 to the Republic of Korea. Liam Pitchford leads Fan Zhendong. Photo by Chris Rayner 3

4 In the Semi-finals England had the hardest task when they were drawn against China. At the start of the tie Paul Drinkhall with Sam Walker faced Xu Xin and Ma Long in the doubles, a match which China wrapped up fairly comfortably. Liam Pitchford, who had already played brilliantly, upped his game even further and nearly brought off the best win of his career against Fan Zhendong (WR 2) but in the end it was not to be and he lost 8, -3, -9, -9. Sam Walker then met the full force of the might of Ma Long, who under the new ITTF ranking system was ranked at number 7, and was rather bemused by his skill and expertise. Japan were up against the Republic of Korea in the second Semi-final and this resulted in another close match for Japan who had another 3-2 win. Xu Xin. Photo by Roger Hance. A mouth watering final was set to be played between the top two teams: China and Japan. On Sunday, 25 th February there was a full house which saw China take an early lead and dominate the match. It was really a lesson in the difference between China and the rest of the world with only Koki Niwa taking an end off Ma Long. Champions: China 3-0. Six of the eight teams from the Far East reached the Women s Quarter-finals. China had a very comfortable 3-0 win over the USA. There was a similar scoreline with a win for Hong Kong China over Romania and also for DPR Korea over Chinese Taipei. It was only Japan who dropped a match against Singapore. Koki Niwa and Kasumi Ishikawa. Photos by Michael Loveder. 4

5 So, all European interest had gone by the Semi-finals. DPR Korea and Hong Kong China both lost 3-0 to Japan and China respectively. The final, like the Men s, was a rather one-sided affair with a 3-0 win for China s Liu Shiwen, Ding Ning and Zhu Yuling, which nevertheless entertained the crowd. Champion Chinese Men's and Women's Teams. Photos by Alan Man. England s Men once again made the most of their opportunities to come away with a bronze medal as losing Semi-finalists and the Women s team were appreciative of the experience before their European Qualifiers match and the Commonwealth Games. The arena. Photo by Alan Man. There were a good number of spectators on all days swelled by the 2,500 tickets given to London school children who certainly created a very noisy hall on days one and two. There was a great meeting of old friends, players and officials from around the world and we enjoyed seeing many people we hadn t seen in a very long time. However, the star performer was the most entertaining television commentator Adam Bobrow who has a wonderful way with words and his superb knowledge of the game and detailed knowledge of the players was pure delight. Jill and Don Parker, Melody Hill (Ludi), Karenza and Ken Mathews, Linda and Nicky Jarvis. Photo by Diane Webb. 5

6 The International Squad By Ken Mathews I read Brian Wright s excellent article about his days as Non Playing Captain of the England Juniors from 1969 to 1973 with great interest. (Table Tennis Times, 2018, Late Winter edition.) Yes Brian, there are still some of us who recall those years recall them with fond memories! One evening over dinner in the summer of 1964, out of curiosity, I asked Mary and Brian how much they earned from table tennis. They smiled patiently at me. Nothing, they replied, we get the occasional prizes if we win a tournament. But... but..., I was stuttering, you spend all your spare time practising and travelling to tournaments and you play for England surely you must get some financial help and reward from all that you do? I mean... I thought that there s no distinction between amateur and professional in table tennis so you could earn money from the game! There s a 5.00 monetary limit on tournament prizes. Five... five pounds? You must be joking! They weren t. In the early Sixties I played table tennis at Harry Venner s Putney International Table Tennis Club. It was there that I had become friendly with the two great England players, Mary Shannon and Brian Wright. When they explained to me the home truths about table tennis finances, I was astonished. Over the next few years we organised table tennis exhibitions in different parts of the country. Our first advertisement appeared in the October 1964 edition of Table Tennis News. Mary and Brian played while I did the talking! We were later joined by the England Junior Champion Karenza Smith. Good old John Jaques made table tennis bats for them from which they derived some royalties. Brian, who was an accountant, and Mary who was a radiographer, were in a stronger financial position than most - but I soon realised that the top players were putting all their time and effort into the game but getting precious little reward from their endeavours. It was particularly surprising to me as those players, Mary, Di Rowe, Lesley Bell, Brian, Chester Barnes, Denis Neale, Ian Mary Wright with Players' Agent, Ken Mathews. Harrison and others - were so successful in representing England on the international stage. In those days the efforts that our players made consisted principally of practice sessions; there was little in the way of organised or informed physical training. But things were about to change! It was in January 1968 that a former junior international player, Les Gresswell, started to run physical training sessions at a school in South London on Monday evenings. Les had qualified as a physical training instructor at St Paul s College, Cheltenham and he designed the sessions for table tennis players, circuit training and endurance being highlighted. And those sessions were hard harder than anything any of us had experienced before! Players regularly had to interrupt themselves to rush outside; we quickly learned not to have a heavy meal before we started training! But Les who was later joined by Colin Henderson knew that high levels of physical fitness were now understood to be an essential part of the table tennis in other countries. It was not long after this that Les was taken on as one of the national coaches. Mary Wright, Karenza Mathews, Pauline Piddock. 6

7 But it was not until early in the summer of 1972 that I talked to Les Gresswell about the future. In the meantime he had travelled to China to study their approach to playing and training. I wrote to Tom Blunn. Tom was the English Table Tennis Association s Treasurer the holder of the purse strings and the power behind the throne! I asked for a meeting which was duly arranged at a venue near Sheffield. Tom had no idea what the meeting was about; we met and he surprised me by inviting the President of the Yorkshire Association, Austin Harrison, to attend; I think he wanted someone along as an independent witness! I drew a picture contrasting the professionally organised practice and training regimes that were being used in other countries - and the amateurish way in which we were approaching the sport. I told them about the work that Les Gresswell was doing. I suggested that the International Squad should be re-formed and that he should be appointed as the England Coach. Regular training camps should be organised and run by Les at, perhaps Lilleshall Hall, Lea Green or at the Crystal Palace National Recreation Centre. Tom sat there nodding; it seemed that he was agreeing with the plan. He had a real knowledge and understanding of international table tennis and he had seen enough to know that in some respects our players were lagging far behind other countries in Europe and the rest of the world. I also described the financial problems of some of the players who tried to earn a living playing table tennis or who perhaps had to take leave from their jobs to play for England. I swallowed hard and suggested that members of the International Squad should be paid an amount for every day that they attended training camps or were on duty representing England. Tom turned pale. How much? He asked. Ten pounds per player per day. I mumbled nervously. To my surprise Tom took it very well. He said that he would need to give the proposal some thought. A few months later at the start of the 1972/3 season Les Gresswell took up his post as full time coach and trainer of the newly-formed International Squad. From that time players who were members of the Squad were paid at the rate I had suggested. For talking too much I was appointed to be the Manager of the Squad; I set about helping to get sponsorship for clothing and other items that the players needed. We also staged exhibition matches for Squad members in different parts of the country; as well as taking top class table tennis to clubs and leagues, the exhibitions helped the players financially. I am not familiar with the way in which top English table tennis players today earn a living. I do not know if there is a squad or whether the players receive any funding from Table Tennis England. (Hopefully a bit more than 10 per day as in the old days!) Things have changed and I believe that in many respects the game in this country is organised by Table Tennis England on a more professional level than it was nearly fifty years ago; I m sure it must be as I understand that there is a strong complement of professional staff working at Milton Keynes. (Compared to Peter Lowen who was the Association s Secretary back in the Sixties and dear old Albert Shipley and Derek Tremayne who ran the Association s office in the Seventies!) The ITTF Team World Cup at the Copper Box in late February was professionally staged and was a very enjoyable show indeed; perhaps there will be more such prestigious events in England in the future? Our own players acquitted themselves very well. The table tennis was astonishingly good incredible, high speed rallies! It s a different world out there! 7

8 National Championships Report The National Championships started with the U21 tournament which took place all on one day, 1 st March, 2018 at the Copper Box Arena, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London. Invitations to enter went to the top 14 in the two singles events plus two wild cards. Of the original 16 ladies invited seven declined the invitation and so invitations went to those further down the ranking list, in the end there were 14 entries. The U21 Men had fewer refusals from the original invitees with two deciding not to accept and eventually 15 players entered the event. After the group stages the top two in each group went through to the Quarter-finals and some unexpected names reached this stage. The biggest name who did not get through her group was new Senior England International, Denise Payet, who lost to both Charlotte Bardsley and Megan Gidney. However, all the top seeds made it through to the first knockout round and then progressed to the Semi-finals which saw Tin-Tin Ho overcome Charlotte Bardsley and in a tight match Maria Tsaptsinos defeated Emily Bolton. The final between long time friends and rivals was a real battle with Tin-Tin Ho the eventual winner and Champion by virtue of winning the last leg Semi-finalists, Charlotte Bardsley and Emily Bolton, Winner Tin-Tin Ho, Runner-up Maria Tsaptsinos. Photo by Alan Man. The Quarter-finals of the U21 Men resulted in much tighter matches which were won in either five or six ends. The seeded Josh Bennett went down to Sam Mabey, who is playing so well at the moment. This left Sam to play Tom Jarvis in the Semi-final. In the other half of the draw Helshan Weerasinghe met Luke Savill at the same stage. The scores show how close the matches were with Tom winning his 8, -9, - 9, 9, 9, 7 and Helshan s scores 14, 7, 7, -9, -10, 9. The final too was closely contested and went to the wire with a delighted Helshan taking the title for the first time from the holder, Tom Jarvis, 9, -9, -7, 10, 7, -5, 7. Semi-finalist Sam Mabey, Runner-up Tom Jarvis, Winner Helshan Weerasinghe, Semi-finalist Luke Savill. Photo by Alan Man. 8

9 The five main events plus the two Para invitation events followed over the next three days, from 2 nd -4 th March, Unlike previous years the draw did not take place until the day before the event started so players in their groups were unaware of their opponents until virtually the start of the Championships. The aim was to stop last minute withdrawals. As with the U21s entry was by invitation. However, this did leave the spectators without a draw sheet and it was sometimes difficult to be aware of who was playing whom and in what round of each competition. Men s Singles Of the original 32 who were invited seven declined including two who would have been in seeded positions. Only four lower ranked players took the opportunity to play in the Championships leaving a total of 29 in the event with the lowest ranked player at number 37. As a result there were only seven groups which meant the number 1 seed, Paul Drinkhall, had a bye to the Quarter-finals. There were one or two surprises in the Round of 16 when against ranking Adam Harrison beat number 7 seed, Danny Reed, and Michael O Driscoll had an excellent win over the previous day s Under 21 Champion and number 8 seed, Helshan Weerasinghe. There were further shocks in the Quarter-finals when sixth seed, David McBeath, gained his Semi-final place by beating Paul Drinkhall. David played well but it did leave one wondering if Paul not having his first singles match until the Quarter-final stage had an impact. The remaining Quarter-finals saw a real tussle as Sam Walker overcame a tough opponent in Chris Doran. Tom Jarvis and Liam Pitchford had more straightforward wins to set up their Semi-final clash which went in favour of Liam. In the other half of the draw Sam Walker proceeded to the final with a win over David McBeath. The final saw Sam take an early lead as he won the first game but Liam went on to win the next four and so regain the trophy for the fourth time. Liam Pitchford with the Guernsey Trophy. Photo by Alan Man. Women s Singles Tin-Tin Ho with the Women's Singles Trophy. Photo by Alan Man. Again 32 players were invited to compete of whom 16 declined. In the end only 21 players took part with the lowest ranked player at 44 meaning 23 of the top players did not participate. The low uptake meant there were only four groups with the top seeded players going straight through to the last 16. The final as expected was between number 1 seed, Tin-Tin Ho, who had overcome Karina Le Fevre in the Semis, and, number 2, Kelly Sibley who had defeated Maria Tsaptsinos in her Semi-final match. Kelly started well in the final and took the first game but she was not to regain the trophy as Tin-Tin went on to win the next four ends making it her third consecutive win. 9

10 Men s Doubles With the numbers down in the singles events the knock on effect impacted significantly on the number of pairings in the doubles and resulted in only 11 partnerships in the Men s Doubles event. There were three first round matches with the winners going through to the Quarterfinals. There were some unusual pairings and long time holders, Paul Drinkhall and Liam Pitchford teamed up with fellow England internationals, Sam Walker and David McBeath respectively. Sam and Liam were the top seeds and reached the final courtesy of wins over Adam Harrison and Alim Hirji and Luke Savill and Matthew Leete. Paul Drinkhall and David McBeath at number 2, were the other finalists after beating brothers, Josh and Jack Bennett in the Quarter-finals and James Hobson and Victor Guang Shi in the Semis. David McBeath and Paul Drinkhall. Photo by Michael Loveder. It was a highly delighted David McBeath who took his first ever senior title, partnered by Paul Drinkhall, the victorious pair overcoming Liam Pitchford and Sam Walker 8, 6, -6, 1. Women s Doubles As with the men it was not a full house of entries and only seven pairs participated. There were three Quarter-final matches whilst the first match for the number 1 seeds, Kelly Sibley and Maria Tsaptsinos, was the Semi-final against Emily Bolton and Mollie Patterson who had a walk over into this match. In the other half of the draw the second seeds, Tin-Tin Ho and Denise Payet, had a comfortable win 4, 3, 4 over Evie Collier and Kate Hughes. The final was a very straight forward affair and Kelly and Maria had an easy 4, 6, 7 victory. Again the usual pairings had been split leaving Tin-Tin and Maria unable to defend their title as a partnership and with only five matches in the event maybe it is time for a re-think on the format. Kelly Sibley and Maria Tsaptsinos celebrate their Women's Doubles victory. Photo by Alan Man. Mixed Doubles Jumping for joy, Liam Pitchford with Tin-Tin Ho. Photo by Alan Man. This event also saw a shortfall in the number of entries with 12 rather than the allowed 16 pairs competing. As in the other doubles events regular partnerships were not in evidence with the pairings of England internationals split which meant there were no defending champions in this event either. Liam Pitchford was paired with Tin-Tin Ho, number 1 seeds, and duly reached the final after beating Tom Jarvis and Maria Tsaptsinos in their Semi-final. The other Semi-final had David McBeath partnered with Kelly Sibley as the number 2 seeds who had a very easy win against Sam Walker and Denise Payet 7, 5,2. 10

11 The final was one of the best matches of the weekend and nearly saw David McBeath and Kelly Sibley have two Championship wins apiece but it was not to be, despite having four match points they eventually succumbed to Liam Pitchford and Tin-Tin Ho who won 9, -6, -8, 12, 10. Para Events Two Para events were scheduled but due to the adverse weather conditions the wheelchair event did not take place. The Men s Singles Class 7-10 of four players was played as a round robin group and resulted in a win for Aaron McKibbin who won all his matches 3-0. Will Bayley was second, Craig Allen third and Alex Bland fourth. Aaron McKibbin. Photo by Michael Loveder. Swaythling Club International The annual meeting of the English branch of the SCI was held as usual during the Championships but the cold and wintry weather resulted in fewer members attending this year. However, it is one occasion during the tournament when old friends get the opportunity to meet and this was again the case. One of the most important functions of the SCI is to present the SCI Fair Play Award which went to Charlotte Bardsley for calling an edge ball, which the umpire had missed, at a crucial stage in a match. Alan Ransome made the presentation. Charlotte Bardsley receiving the SCI Fair Play Award from Alan Ransome, OBE. Photo by Alan Man. Did You Know? In 1980 the ETTA introduced a Payment Permit scheme. The scheme meant that officials, players, coaches etc could accept payments for Table Tennis activities in England provided that those payments conformed to English Table Tennis Rules. Those who wished to belong to the scheme had to pay 5.00 for the privilege, the equivalent of today. Players and officials were given a Payment Permit card which was signed by the General Secretary. 11

12 What was Happening 1968? 50 Years Ago A competition for the best Local League Handbook is won by Harrogate & District Table Tennis League; they receive five guineas as a prize - just under at today s rate. ETTA Chairman Ivor Eyles retires after six years in office and as Deputy for a further four. Conrad Jaschke is elected as the new Chairman with Walter Mitton as his Deputy. Tom Blunn is re-elected as Treasurer. Ivor Eyles. Table Tennis News, edited by George Yates costs 1/- (ie 12p). Conrad Jaschke. Chester Barnes is re-instated as a member of the International Squad but international Michael Symonds is suspended indefinitely after playing and coaching in South Africa without permission. Johnny Leach is advisor, coach and double for the 20 th Century Fox film The Chairman starring Gregory Peck. We are not sure who Johnny doubled for! Denis Neale and Mary Wright are not only England Number 1s but also National Champions. Elsie Carrington and Jackie Billington win the National Women s Doubles title, the only time ever that neither player is an England international. Junior Number 1s are Trevor Taylor and Karenza Mathews. Mary Wright and Denis Neale. Mary Wright retires from playing due to expecting her first child who is born in November. A tremendous season for Mary with one of her most impressive performances at the Rumanian Open where, despite having a very high temperature, being given influenza injections and tablets, went on to remain undefeated in the team event, win the Women s Singles and the Mixed Doubles with Denis Neale. England Junior, Karenza Smith marries Ken Mathews. The wedding was attended by the elite of English Table Tennis including Brian and Mary Wright, Laurie Landry, Ron Crayden, Jill Shirley, Diane Simpson, Pauline Piddock, Connie Warren and Judy Heaps. There are 317 Local Leagues, 7,790 Clubs and approximately 190,000 players in England. Karenza Mathews. The Master Points Scheme sees Mary Wright as the only player to achieve the highest level of National Master. Stuart Gibbs, Denis Neale and Trevor Taylor reach the second tier of Tournament Masters. Supporters at the European Championships in Lyon, France are offered a package for 36 18s 0d to fly to Lyon, transfer to and from the hotel and accommodation for four nights at B & B rate. 12

13 Sweden s Junior Girls Champion, Eva Johansson, is given special permission to take part in a Men s Singles tournament she wins an electric razor. The first English Junior Open is held in Folkestone. The Junior Boys first team of Paul Judd and Trevor Taylor win the Junior Team event and are also Runners-up in the Boys Doubles. Karenza Mathews with Judy Heaps, the Junior Girls first team are team finalists and also Runners-up in the Girls Doubles. England s two second teams are Tony Clayton and Brian Mitchell, and, Sandra Goldsmith and Jill Shirley. Trevor Taylor, NPC Laurie Landry, Paul Judd. The Quadrangular tournament in Belfast in February sees first senior international appearances for Keith Lawrence, Trevor Taylor and Jill Shirley (later Mrs Hammersley/Mrs Parker). England beat Ireland 6-4, Scotland 9-1 and Wales 9-1 to take the title. Other squad members are Ian Harrison and Maureen Heppell. Paul Beck and Charles Davies conduct a survey for The Girl with the Most Sex Appeal and The Most Attractive Man. Jill Shirley (left) wins the first and Maureen Heppell is Runner-up. Ken Baker of Kent wins the men s with Chester Barnes the Runner-up. The competition made the front page of the London Evening Standard. Sorry ladies no photo of Ken. National Councillor for Durham is Alan Ransome, still going strong today and the only surviving member from 1968 on the present National Council. Lesley Proudlock is the Coach at Butlins in Filey and Diane Pritchard (now Mrs Webb) is a Girl Player of the Week. (Heady days). Keith Watts receives the Leslie Forrest Memorial Trophy and Denis Neale, the Victor Barna Award. There are four new ETTA Vice-Presidents: Edward Connell, Harry Flinton, Mrs Jean Reay and Harry Walker. The English Open in Brighton sees one gold medal for England by Marjorie Cumberbatch in the Veteran s Women s event. Godfrey Decker, Honorary Life Member and equipment supremo, who was the equipment and lighting wizard at five World Championships and 23 English Championships, passes away. Godfrey was one of the founder members of the ETTA and Honorary Secretary in 1932/33, he was also the Honorary Secretary of the Table Tennis Association in 1924/25. Godfrey was an England international playing in the first ever international match v Wales on 9 th March Godfrey Decker. 13

14 European Championships Stage 1 Report Round 1: Men v Bosnia & Herzegovina and Women v Norway: home A double header took place on a cold, snowy evening at the Copper Box on Tuesday, 27 th February England Men played Bosnia & Herzegovina whilst the Women s Team played Norway. Both England s teams had squads of five but only three players from each were on court. England's trio of Tom Jarvis, Sam Walker, Liam Pitchford. Photo by Michael Loveder. Tom Jarvis was first on for the men and had a comfortable win, followed by Sam Walker who also had a relatively easy match. Liam Pitchford was third on the table and finished the fixture off for England in just over an hour. A long way for the opposition to come against a team who were unlikely to be troubled by them. David McBeath and Paul Drinkhall were on the bench. Bosnia and Herzegovina Team. All photos by Michael Loveder. The England Women had a good start too with Tin-Tin Ho winning the first match, Kelly Sibley was on next with a 3-1 win. Maria Tsaptsinos was England s Number 3 but failed to finish the match for her team. So, it was left to Tin-Tin to get the win for England which she accordingly did in the fourth match. The two youngsters in the squad, Denise Payet and Charlotte Bardsley watched from the sidelines but it should be valuable experience for them to see England s top three ladies in action. Norwegian Ladies Team. Photo by Michael Loveder. 14

15 Possibly the lowest crowd ever for an international match watched this fixture. After the weekend before at the World Team Cup it was disappointing that so few had turned out to support the English players. Although there was some live streaming it was only for the Women s match so there was no coverage at all of the Men s match. Round 2: Women v Greece, away Greece was the England Ladies opponents for their second match on 24 th April 2018 and Maria Tsaptsinos was first on the table for the away match against Aikaterini Toliou (WR 154). It was close but Maria just lost the match 11-9 in the fifth end. Tin-Tin Ho at number 2 made short work of her match against the world ranked 538. Denise Payet was next on and she defeated the world number 407, Maria Christoforaki. Tin-Tin ensured the victory for England with a 3-1 win in her second match. Round 2: Men: v Serbia, away Not a good night for England on 7 th May 2018 as they went down 3-0 to Serbia who are World Ranked 55. Although the matches were close Paul Drinkhall lost to Aleksander Karakasevic (WR 236), Liam Pitchford lost to Zsolt Peto (WR 412) and Sam Walker lost to Marko Petkov (WR 509). Let s hope for better results in the rest of the group matches in the autumn in October and November Table Tennis England Governance Review Update The review of the governance of Table Tennis England continues and the Independent Review Panel (IRP) have now prepared and presented an interim 46 page report to the Board and National Council. This report has been circulated and is available to read in full on the TTE website. The next stage is to hold a series of Governance Update Roadshows around the country to provide more information about the consultation and to share the proposed next steps. There were eleven critical issues identified and recommendations made, probably the most significant being the replacement of National Council with a new advisory body to the Board the Members Advisory Group (MAG) which will draw on the enormous variety of skills and knowledge from within the table tennis community, and will be formed of players, county & league officials, coaches, technical officials, clubs etc. The aim of this is to address the issue of lack of engagement with the membership. Although outside the remit of the IRP they did take on board several concerns from the membership which included: organisation of the competitive game, player welfare (particularly for the elite players), lack of responsiveness by TTE staff and insufficient support for volunteers. The IRP has captured these concerns so that the Board and Staff can address them in the future. 15

16 In Memoriam Doug Young The loveliest of men and one of our top class referees, Doug Young, passed away on 10 th February 2018 in Worcester. Doug, who was born on 30 th May 1934 in Luton, was involved with table tennis for very many years at local, county, national and international level. He was well loved and respected by those who came across him for his quiet charm and gentle sense of humour as much as his professionalism as an official. Worcester and Worcestershire are synonymous with Doug. He held many roles in the Worcester League including President, Fixtures Secretary (for over 30 years) and Secretary for both Division 1 and Division 2. At county level Doug was Worcestershire s Chairman , Umpires Secretary and National Councillor Doug also served the sport on several ETTA Committees: He was County Championships Chairman , Trade Committee Member , National Championships Committee Member , National Umpires and Referees Committee Member and Umpires Review Panel Member Doug s achievements were honoured by the ETTA when he was made a Vice-President in 1994 and then he became a well deserved Honorary Life Member in Doug was a first class umpire and referee. He gained his County Umpires badge in 1962; National Umpire in 1970 and an International Umpire in He was chosen to umpire the Women s Team Final at the 1983 World Championships in Tokyo in front of 11,000 spectators. Doug was also a prominent referee who first became a Tournament Referee in 1972, a National Referee a year later before gaining the status of International Referee in He was appointed the Referee at the Commonwealth Championships in Nairobi in As Deputy Referee Doug officiated at the World Championships in Gothenburg in 1993, the European Championships in Birmingham in 1994 and two English Open Championships in 1986 and A remarkable record. Doug was most proud of being named by John Wright, the world renowned and possibly the best referee ever, as his successor and the only Deputy John would leave in charge whilst he had a break. Steve Welch We learnt of the death on Saturday, 31 st March 2018 of Steve Welch. Steve was one of the foremost officials in recent times and his list of appointments is long and impressive. Steve s road to high level officialdom began in 1996 when he qualified as both a County Umpire and a Tournament Referee. In 2000 Steve became a National Umpire and then a National Referee two years later. The international scene beckoned and success in 2002 resulted in Steve becoming an International Umpire and in 2005 an International Referee. As an added string to his bow Steve gained a Tournament Organiser Level 3 qualification in

17 The pinnacle of Steve s achievements were twofold: as a Deputy Referee at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008 and four years later when he held that same position on home soil at the Paralympics in London. Steve fulfilled many significant roles at events in England added to which were foreign appointments as Deputy Referee at the European Championships, 2007 and China Open in Steve held further Deputy Referee roles at the last two English Open Championships in 2009 and 2011 in Sheffield. However, Steve s presence and influence stretched much farther afield in the administrative side of table tennis. He held several positions on TTE Committees including Tournament Committee Chairman, Administrator of the Sanctions Scheme, Co-Chairman of the Tournaments Approval Panel (TAP) and Member of the National Championships Committee, Competitions Committee, Ranking Policy Committee, NURC/TOC and Calendar Working Party. At county level Steve was Vice-Chairman, Treasurer and Umpires Secretary for Yorkshire. Steve s financial acumen led him to become Table Tennis Scotland s Financial Director and Treasurer of the AETTU. Steve was also an ETTU Technical Committee Member. Steve was rightly honoured for all his work and achievements by TTE in 2010 when he was presented with the Ivor Montagu Award for his services to the Junior British League and in 2012 when he was made an TTE Vice-President. In 2016 at the Sports Officials UK Awards Steve received the Pat Smith School Sport Officials Award for revamping the UK School Games. Carol Beames On Saturday, 31 st March 2018 Table Tennis England lost one of its most respected administrators when Carol Beames, recently of Devon, but with a long association with Brighton and Sussex, passed away. Carol started her involvement on the administrative front when she became Assistant Secretary in the mid-1970s of the Brighton League to husband, Alan s Secretary. Within a short time Alan and Carol held those same positions within Sussex County. In 1979, Carol, along with John Clark, started running a British League team representing Brighton and Sussex. This brought her to the notice of the then British League Chairman, Keith Ponting, who asked Carol to join the British League Committee as Secretary and she did so from 1992 until It was during this period that Carol moved up the ladder on the national administrative scene becoming Vice Chairman without Departmental Responsibility and so, also, a member of the ETTA Management Committee, from , under the Chairmanship of Alan Ransome. Carol was previously National Councillor for Sussex from and so was well known among the top administrators, Carol returned to the position of National Councillor for a short period after her term of office on the Management Team ceased. Carol was the first Chairman of the newly setup South East Regional Committee in 1996 until the Sport England changed the structure in Perhaps Carol s proudest achievement was with Hollingbury Table Tennis Club which started out as a one table club in 1993 and grew to a club with eight tables and a membership of over 100 by However, not one to keep away from table tennis for good Carol became involved in table tennis in the West Country after she moved to Devon when she became Devonshire s General Secretary in 2013 and also a member of the South West Region Committee in

18 Tony Chatwin Tony Chatwin, one of the longest-serving and most dedicated servants of table tennis in England, has died at the age of 84 after a long illness. Tony spent a lifetime involved in the sport after taking it up in 1952, becoming one of the country s most respected officials and administrators at every level from local to international. He was in the first group of National Referees in 1971, qualified as an International Umpire in 1973 when the qualification was first introduced, and was the third English official to be appointed an International Referee, in He was appointed to a number of prestigious tournaments, including Deputy Referee when England hosted the World Championships in both 1977 and As Referee, he took charge of the World Student Games in 1981, European Top 12 (1983), English Open (1992), US Open (1992) Commonwealth Championships (1985) and National Championships in But it was not just as an official that Tony served the sport he was also an administrator who played a key role in so many areas of the sport at every level. His committee involvement dated right back to the start of his playing career, as a member of the Derby TTL committee. Also at a local level, Tony was Secretary of Rolls Royce TTC for 28 years and served on the committee of Derbyshire TTA since the 1960s, including as Secretary, Chairman on three occasions and President since 1999, for which service he was made an Honorary Life Member of the association. Nationally, he was ETTA Deputy Chairman from , served as Vice-Chairman of Competitions and was National Councillor for Derbyshire from 2006 to 2015, having been Deputy National Councillor from He was part of various committees, including Development, Tournaments, Trade, Disciplinary and Honours, as well as the Appeals Board, and was National Elections Scrutineer. He was a member of the National Umpire and Referees Committee from 1970 to 1994 and Chairman from 1994 to 1997, also serving on the Referees International Selection Panel. He was also President of the Association of English Table Tennis Umpires and national representative of the England branch of the Swaythling Club International. Internationally, Tony was Deputy Chairman of the European Table Tennis Union (ETTU) Umpires and Referees Committee and sat on the ITTF Technical Committee. He was also a tutor/trainer for the ITTF Blue Badge Scheme, attending a number of World Championships as a result. For the Commonwealth Table Tennis Federation, he was on the Classification & Technical Committee. Tony s contribution to the sport was recognised with a number of honours and awards, including becoming a Vice-President of the ETTA in 1985 and an Honorary Life Member in He was presented with the Ivor Montagu Award in 1993, the Malcolm Scott Award in 1996 and the Keith Ponting President s Memorial Trophy in 2017, the latter presented for exceptionally long and outstanding service to Table Tennis England. Fuller obituaries can be found on the Table Tennis England website. 18

19 Commonwealth Games Report The Games began in brilliant sunshine on Australia s Gold Coast on 5 th April 2018 and England had eight players plus three Para players taking part. The Men s team of Paul Drinkhall, David McBeath, Liam Pitchford and Sam Walker was initially seeded first with India second. The Women s team of Tin-Tin Ho, Denise Payet, Kelly Sibley, and Maria Tsaptsinos were also seeded, in third place. So, medals were expected in these and the individual events where the England players also held some prime seeding positions: in the Men s Singles Paul Drinkhall was third with Liam fourth; Paul and Liam paired up in the Men s Doubles as number one seeds and Liam with Tin-Tin Ho in the Mixed Doubles also held the top spot with David McBeath and Kelly Sibley ranked fourth. However, due to an error in the ITTF ranking file which they hadn t advised, amendments had to be made, which altered the seeding positions. Kim Daybell, Ross Wilson and Felicity Pickard in the two Para events were hoping for success too. Men s Team Event The revised seeding meant England was now at number 2 which didn t make too much difference. There was not much of a challenge in the group stage where they had 3-0 wins against Ghana and Guyana without an end being dropped. The next match was the Quarter-finals against Northern Ireland and this was another straight forward victory which took only 1 hour and 15 minutes to wrap up. Liam Pitchford was the only player to drop an end, against Paul McCreery. Onto the Semi-final against Nigeria, world ranked 32, who were without their best player Quadri Aruna. It was a lacklustre performance from England. Paul Drinkhall was first on the table and beat Segun Toriola in five after 53 minutes. Liam Pitchford was next on court against Bode Abiodun, ranked over 200 places below him on the world list, despite this it was the Nigerian who won the match in the fifth game. Next up were Paul and Sam Walker but they never got to grips in the doubles match and lost in four ends putting Nigeria 2-1 up. Liam was next on the table against the young Olajide Omotayo, world ranked 215, and he just scrapped though in five levelling the overall match score. Sam Walker had the difficult task of trying to win the match for England. By this time Nigeria were on a roll and it was Bode Abiodun who after a long tussle won the fifth set and the match 11-8 leaving England to fight for a medal but only a bronze. This match took four minutes short of three and a half hours and the scheduling meant the team were due on court again for the bronze medal match only minutes after they had finished the semi-final strange scheduling. Rightly their next match was delayed but it still only gave the players an hour s break before they faced Singapore in the third/fourth play-offs. This time the men seemed to have the bit between their teeth and Paul came storming out to beat world ranked 47, Gao Ning, in three. Next up, Liam took 28 minutes to get the better of Shao Feng Ethan Poh, an expected result as the Singaporean was world ranked 234. The doubles partnership of Paul Drinkhall and David McBeath faced Shao Feng Ethan Poh and Xue Jie Pang, a match they won in the fifth taking 42 minutes to do so. This final victory meant the Men s Team had won the bronze medal. Their celebrations were a little muted after building themselves up for the gold before the championships. Even so they were England celebrate. Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images. 19

20 delighted with their medal and were philosophical about their loss to Nigeria. Gold went to India with a victory against Nigeria in the final. Played Won Lost Paul Drinkhall David McBeath Liam Pitchford Sam Walker Drinkhall/Walker Drinkhall/McBeath Women s Team Event As with the Men s Team the Women s Team came away with two very comfortable 3-0 wins in the group stage against Guyana and Vanuatu. The team for both matches was Tin-Tin Ho who started proceedings followed by Kelly Sibley s singles and then Kelly teaming up with Maria Tsaptsinos in the doubles for the third match. This format was used for all the team matches leaving Denise Payet on the bench as chief supporter. In the Quarter-finals England met Canada, a match they won 3-1 with Tin-Tin winning both her singles matches and Kelly and Maria the doubles. They were all close matches with two going to five and two to four ends. The Semi-final stage against a strong India team, the eventual Women s Team champions, was a step too far for the English girls but they fought valiantly, Kelly losing in four to Manika Batra, Tin- Tin in five to Madhurika Patkar and Kelly and Maria in the doubles in four. England ladies enjoying their victory. Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images. The players were, therefore, in the bronze medal playoff match against home country, Australia. With a vociferous crowd behind the Australian team it nonetheless was not enough to lift their team to victory and in a match lasting over three hours the English trio were jubilant victors. For anyone who doesn t know how passionate Maria Tsaptsinos is and how much it meant to the players to win that bronze medal there is a wonderful BBC clip showing Maria s exuberance. How was the match won? Tin-Tin was on first against Melissa Tapper and won in five, the second match was Kelly against the higher ranked twiddler with pimples, Jian Fang Lay, not an easy match and one which Kelly almost pulled off but in the end she went down 11-7 in the fifth after 48 minutes. Next up were Kelly and Maria against Miao Miao and Lay which they won in four. Tin-Tin then played superbly and kept a cool head against the vastly experienced Miao Miao who was given a second yellow card and so a point away for time wasting; a match lasting 53 minutes. Celebrations by England, the first time the distaff side has won a team medal and what a well deserved medal it was. India won the gold making it a double for them. Played Won Lost Tin-Tin Ho Kelly Sibley Sibley/Tsaptsinos

21 There was a day s breather before the individual events, much needed after some very long matches in the latter stages of the team competition. Women s Singles The format of the competition meant that England could only enter three players in the singles competition. Denise Payet was given one of the places so her first time on the table in the tournament. She played well to win her group and the first stages of the knock out matches but then went out in the Round of 16, the same round as Tin-Tin Ho who had a very close match against Mouma Das of India. The best performance was by Kelly Sibley and what an excellent event it was for her too where she reached the Quarter-finals after beating Madhurika Patkar of India, World Ranked 112, in the previous round. Facing the number 1 seed and World Ranked 4 Tianwei Feng of Singapore, Kelly put up a spirited fight and played some blinding points which belied the difference in their ranking. Although Kelly lost in four games she held two game points in the last game and only lost The event was won by the stylish Manika Batra of India, seeded fourth. Old friend and India s Coach, Massimo Constantini, was Massimo Constantini celebrating with Manika Batra. Photo by Matt Roberts/Getty Images. Men s Singles jubilant in his celebrations of yet another gold medal for his players. Paul Drinkhall, Liam Pitchford and Sam Walker were England s three players for the Men s Singles. Paul Drinkhall went out in the last 16 and still wasn t firing on all cylinders. Liam Pitchford lost to old adversary Sharath Achanta in the Quarter-finals but Sam Walker had a tremendous win 4-0 in this round against Sathiyan Gnanasekaran of India, World Ranking 46, in which Sam dominated throughout. He went on to face the number 3 seed Gao Ning of Singapore in the Semis. Unfortunately, Sam couldn t emulate his Quarter-final form and went out 4-0 to the eventual winner. Men s Doubles Paul Drinkhall and Liam Pitchford, the number 2 seeds under the revised seedings, went one better than this ranking by taking the gold medal against the India duo, Sharath Achanta and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran in a tense final. The match went to the wire with England winning 5, -10, -9, 6, 8 after 42 minutes of play. They had previously overcome the other Indian partnership of Harmeet Desai and Sanil Shankar Shetty in their Semifinal match. Sam Walker and David McBeath had earlier gone out to the Achanta and Gnanasekaran pair in the Quarter-finals. Paul Drinkhall and Liam Pitchford with their gold medals. Photo by Matt Roberts/Getty Images. 21

22 Women s Doubles Kelly Sibley partnered by the young Denise Payet reached the Round of 16 while Maria Tsaptsinos and Tin-Tin Ho went one further round before losing to the Runners-up, Manika Batra and Mouma Das. The Singaporeans Feng Tianwei and Yu Mengyu were crowned champions, ably coached by former England Coach, Jia Yi Liu. Mixed Doubles David McBeath and Kelly Sibley had a tough draw in the Round of 16 against India s Sharath Achanta and Mouma Das who proved too strong for them. Sam Walker and Denise Payet also faced tough opposition in the Quarter-finals and couldn t get the better of eventual Singaporean winners Gao Ning and Yu Mengyu. However, Liam Pitchford and Tin-Tin Ho continued to carry the flag for the English team reaching the finals after 3-2 wins in the Quarter-finals and the Semi-finals against Indian opposition. But it was to be silver at the end of the day as Gao Ning and Yu Mengyu, the number 1 seeds, won in three straight. Tin-Tin Ho and Liam Pitchford on their way to a silver medal. Photo by Matt Roberts/Getty Images. TT6-10 Singles There was a limited field of eight players in both the Men s and Women s events which covered quite a wide range of disability. The Men s final was between the two Englishmen Ross Wilson and Kim Daybell with the top honour going to Ross. Felicity Pickard was the sole English representative in the Women s event and she reached the Quarter-finals going out to Faith Obazuaye of Nigeria. India were the stand out team winning both team events and the Women s Singles, gaining a further two silver medals and one bronze way above expectations. We watched many matches by way of excellent coverage by the BBC even though it meant several very early mornings or should that be very late nights! We had great fun spotting many English supporters in the crowd and not just parents of the players. There seemed to be good support for England in the playing hall except when they faced Australia. It was certainly good to see that the spectators were so close to the field of play. Congratulations to Australia on a well run and enjoyable tournament. Two of England's chief supporters, former internationals Mary and Brian Wright, enjoying a variety of sports. Photo from their private collection. Roll on Birmingham in 2022, the home of two of the biggest table tennis events held in England: the World Championships in 1977 and the European Championships in It can t come quickly enough and viewing time will definitely be more amenable. 22

23 Spotlight on Kelly Sibley With Kelly s announcement that she is retiring from international competition it seems appropriate to put the Spotlight on her career. A Warwickshire lass who first started playing at the Lillington Free Church Table Tennis Club, Royal Leamington Spa. Kelly s Mum, a former county player, was ever present from the beginning and is still possibly Kelly s biggest supporter who can be seen wherever Kelly is playing including at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast this spring Lauren Spink and Kelly Sibley. Cadet Girls National Champions, presented by Alan Ransome and Doreen Stannard. As Kelly s game developed she moved first to the Academy in Nottingham aged 13 years and then to Sheffield to be part of the England squad at the English Institute of Sport. Training was intensive with two three hour practice sessions daily as well as a physical programme which included gym sessions, with training and running, all overseen by coach, Alan Cooke. In Sheffield lifelong friendships were made and Kelly with Joanna Parker (now Mrs Paul Drinkhall) were inseparable. The two dominated the women s game for so long playing together in team events and doubles matches and against each other in many individual tournaments. Kelly with Jo Parker, 2013 Women's Doubles Champions. Photo by Steve Parkin. Kelly s achievements are considerable; on the domestic front she won five Women s Singles titles at the National Championships and was Runner-up on another five occasions. With Jo, Kelly won six Women s Doubles titles and then this year with a change in partner won her seventh with Maria Tsaptsinos. The Mixed Doubles saw three championship titles come Kelly s way, partnered by Darius Knight each time. In total fourteen Senior National Championship titles, an amazing achievement. It puts it in perspective when you consider only Jill Mum, Lyn, with Kelly, Winner of the Women's Singles National Title in Photo by Steve Parkin. Hammersley (Parker) and Mary Shannon (Wright) won more singles titles. Twelve further National titles came Kelly s way at Under 21, Junior and Cadet level and also a gold in the Cadet Masters in On the international stage Kelly first represented England at senior level when she was 15 years old and went on to compete in one Olympic Games, 2012 in London; 11 World Championships; eight European Championships and one European Games. In 2008 Kelly won 12 from 13 matches in the World Team Championships including defeating the World Number 39 and then in 2011 she won ten consecutive matches in the European Championships which helped promote England into the top tier once again. Alan Cooke, Kelly Sibley, Emma Vickers, Joanna Parker World Team Championships. 23

24 Kelly with Danny Reed on winning the Mixed Doubles Bronze medal, 2018, Glasgow. Photo courtesy of the ITTF. Further representation has been in a considerable number of European League/European Qualifier matches, spanning a twelve year period, the first in 2006; four Commonwealth Championships and four Commonwealth Games; also several Open Championships home and abroad including the last two English Opens in 2009 and It is probably in the Commonwealth Games that many will best remember Kelly for her celebration at winning the bronze medal with Danny Reed in the Mixed Doubles in Glasgow. Pure joy. Her celebration will certainly stay with me and the medal was a rich reward for all her hard work, commitment and dedication over so many years. This summer too saw two triumphs with a team bronze on the Gold Coast and a Quarter-final spot in the Women s Singles when Kelly s determined play nearly earned her a medal play-off match. The tournament was a fitting note to sign off her international career. Kelly has received many accolades over the years for her play, one being the ETTA Victor Barna Award in She is the consummate professional and a superb role model for the younger players. Her commitment has always been one hundred per cent; her work ethic and passion are positive examples to the younger generation. But what shines out for me is the love and the joy of the game, always friendly, always a pleasure to be around Kelly I will miss seeing you at the major events but thank you for all you have brought to English Table Tennis in the last twenty years. Enjoy the new direction your life has now taken with your wife, Laura. Continue bringing the next generation on with your coaching role at Nottingham University where you have achieved so much already. Oh, yes, and now you will have more time to support Blackburn Rovers. Kelly with Harry Fairchild, National Table Tennis Day, Brighton, Photo by Michael Loveder. A farewell wave from the podium, 2018 Commonwealth Games, Gold Coast, Australia with Tin-Tin Ho, Maria Tsaptsinos and Denise Payet. Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images. 24

25 World Championships Report The World Championships were once again held in Europe, in the town of Halmstad, Sweden with a population of just under 100,000. This year it was the turn of the team events, last played in 2016 when England men played exceptionally to earn a bronze medal. The format has changed since then and there has been a restriction in the number of countries who are able to enter 72 in both the men s and women s events. England had two teams, the men playing in Group C of the Championships Division and the women in Group H of Division 2. However, the reduction in numbers did mean several other home countries teams were not eligible to play with only the Welsh ladies qualifying. Halmoo, the mascot. Photo courtesy of the ITTF. The English Men took a squad of five; Paul Drinkhall, Tom Jarvis, David McBeath, Liam Pitchford and Sam Walker whilst the women took a smaller squad of three Tin-Tin Ho, Denise Payet and Maria Tsaptsinos. With Kelly Sibley announcing her retirement from international competition shortly before and with England number 3, Karina Le Fevre, not being selected, it meant that it was a very young team who represented England. The Championships started on Sunday, 29 th April 2018 and England men faced Belarus for their first match whilst the women took on the Dominican Republic. Men s Team (WR 13) Belarus (WR 20): Paul got the England team off to a good start with a win, followed by a win from Liam. Sam then finished the match in style to make it 3-0 to England. Chinese Taipei (WR 6): Day two saw Paul get out of the starting blocks with some blistering play only for the World number 16, Chih-Yuan Chung, to come back and lead 10-5 in the fifth game. Holding his nerve Paul took the next seven points to give England victory in the first match. Liam was next up and also had a good win defeating World 30, Chien-An Chen, in the fourth. Sam couldn t keep hold of his first game lead and went down in four. Next up was Liam who had another remarkable result against Chung to give England the team win. Japan (WR 3): Hearts of oak, nerves of steel as England crushed Japan 3-1. Paul was first on the table and lost a close encounter against Jun Mizutani (WR 11) in five games. Next on court was Liam who demolished the youngster, Tomokazu Harimoto (WR 13), 5, 5, 3. Sam Walker at number 3 took on Koki Niwa (WR 9) and took him apart 9, 10, 8. Liam returned to the table and just had the edge on Mizutani 4, -9, 9, -6, 8. A truly awesome team performance by all the players to lead their group. Singapore (WR 22): The lowest ranked team in England s group proved a fairly comfortable win especially as Singapore were without their top player Gao Ning. Paul, Liam and Sam all won their matches for a 3-0 win. Belgium (WR 16): Liam was first out and had a comfortable win. Paul was up next against Cedric Nuytinck (WR 44) and despite a close fourth game couldn t close the match. Sam claimed the third 25

26 match and Liam for his second match of the day finished it for England with a straight forward win over Nuytinck. Knockout Stage: With a full house of wins it meant England finished top of their group England and so bypassed the Round of 16 and went straight into the Quarter-finals. A tremendous achievement. Quarter-final: Sweden (WR 9): With tremendous home support this match was always going to be difficult, plus the fact all the Swedish players were ranked higher than their English opponents. So it proved with England going down 3-0. The team members stayed the same throughout the tournament with Paul Drinkhall, Liam Pitchford and Sam Walker the players with a supporting cast of Tom Jarvis and David McBeath. Home support. Photo courtesy of the ITTF. So no medal this time around but some tremendous individual performances from all the players and a true team performance. Played Won Lost Paul Drinkhall Liam Pitchford Sam Walker Women s Team (WR 31=) Dominican Republic (WR 47): A straightforward win against a team much lower ranked. Maria Tsaptsinos won 3-0, Tin-Tin Ho 3-1, Denise Payet 3-1. Switzerland (WR 31=): Tin-Tin led the team out and started with a 3-0 win. Maria couldn t build on this success and went down 3-1. Denise then put England in front but Tin-Tin lost the fourth match so the match score was levelled. Maria saved the day for England in the decider, a close five set match, giving the victory to our ladies. Chile (WR 27): A good win for the team. Maria was first out but went down 3-1; Tin-Tin levelled the score followed by a win from Denise. Tin-Tin closed the match for England with a 3-2 win in the fourth game. 26

27 Canada (WR 47): The first loss for the English ladies as they succumbed to Canada whom they had beaten in the Commonwealth Games. Tin-Tin got the team off to a good start with a 3-0 win. Despite battling valiantly Maria lost in five to Mo Zhang (WR 26). Denise couldn t redress the balance in the third match and lost 3-0. Tin-Tin went on to try and level the score but she couldn t defeat Mo Zhang and went down 3-1. Serbia (WR 37): Not a good day with England losing all three matches with Denise the only player to take a game. Knockout Stage: The loss against Serbia meant England were in a three way count back for their final group position and ended up in a disappointing fourth place. This resulted in the team being in the bottom half of the knock-out draw for place. Position Play-off: Cuba (WR 45): A close match with England winning two courtesy of Tin-Tin Ho but neither Maria Tsaptsinos nor Denise Payet could add to the score so England were beaten 3-2 finishing in the lowest position at a World Championships ever, place. Played Won Lost Tin-Tin Ho Denise Payet Maria Tsaptsinos The Medallists: The finals went the way which was expected with China holding aloft both trophies once again. The Chinese ladies team beat Japan 3-1 in the final with the young Japanese player, Mima Ito, defeating China s Liu Shiwen deuce in the fifth for their sole victory. The rest of the matches were fairly straightforward for China. The bronze medals went to the combined Korea team and Hong Kong, China. Perhaps the match of the tournament was in the Semi-final of the Men s competition between Germany and the Republic of Korea which produced so many spectacular rallies and was a feast for the eyes and table tennis at its best. Germany were victorious and so the Republic of Korea along with host nation, Sweden, took well deserved bronze medals. Germany went on to meet China in the final of the Men s competition, the number 1 and number 2 seeds. Germany did not live up to their billing and it was the Chinese men who won fairly comfortably despite dogged performances from the German players. The Chinese Champions with their support network. Photo courtesy of the ITTF. 27

28 Off the Table As with every major event there are interesting happenings off the table as well as on it and the coup of the tournament was when in the Women s Quarter-finalists North Korea and South Korea agreed not to play each other but to present a combined team against Japan in the Semi-finals. With the approval of the ITTF and International Olympic Committee this proposal was agreed and some very excited young ladies posed for the cameras in front of a united Korean flag. The power of sport transcending politics and was an echo of the World Championships in Pyongyang in 1999 when there too there was a combined Korean team. Media interest in the combined Korean teams. Photo courtesy of the ITTF. Can You Help? This quarter we are asking if you can help provide any former World Championships programmes that you no longer want. The years we are looking for, more in hope than expectation, are: 1928: Stockholm 1929: Budapest 1930: Berlin 1931: Budapest 1932: Prague 1933 (January/February): Baden 1933 (December): Paris 1936: Prague 1937: Baden 1939: Cairo 1947: Paris 1949: Stockholm 1950: Budapest 1951: Vienna 1952: Bombay 1958: Dortmund 1963: Prague 1967: Stockholm 1971: Nagoya 1973: Sarajevo 1981: Novi Sad 1983: Tokyo 1985: Gothenburg 1987: New Delhi 1993: Gothenburg 2001: Osaka 2006: Bremen 2012: Dortmund 28

29 World Team Championships Halmstad, Sweden 2018 By Alan Ransome A number of international meetings always take place in conjunction with the World Championships when most of the Committee members and Delegates are present. International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) The 2018 ITTF Congress was held in Halmstad. There were three main presentations: For the World Championships which will take place in Budapest, Hungary in The 2020 World Team Championships were awarded to Busan in Korea. From the presentation it appears the facilities will be very good. There was also a presentation about the Olympic table tennis competition in Tokyo in The ITTF presented their Strategic Document. The finances of the ITTF are looking healthy although there will be a loss in 2018 due to commission payments being made to their former marketing agency, TMS, which covers four years sponsorship. The ITTF are predicting a surplus for the next three years which is partly due to increased funding from the International Olympic Committee. In addition to the Annual General Meeting the ITTF Board of Directors meet at the Championships. Some of the key decisions are delegated to that meeting. A proposal from the Executive Committee to reduce the number of teams that participate in the final stages of the World Team Championships was passed, reducing the number from 72 men s and women s teams down to 32. Alongside the final stages, it is proposed to have a new qualification system; Alan speaking at the ITTF AGM. Photo courtesy of the ITTF. similar to football, but how this will work in each Continent is still to be decided. There was a lot of opposition to this amongst the delegates from the smaller countries who attend and have votes at the AGM. They are in the main not members of the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors is made up from the Executive Committee plus a small number of elected representatives from each of the Continents. Sandra Deaton is one of the European representatives. The outcome of this is that many countries that have always attended the World Team Championships will no longer qualify. England Women finished in 41 st position in Halmstad which would mean that if this performance was repeated in the qualification competition, they would not qualify. Scotland and Ireland did not qualify for Halmstad because the numbers reduced from 96 to 72 and the Welsh Men also missed out. Many of the middle and smaller countries are opposed to this so this may be discussed again before it is due to be implemented in In any case, the Executive Committee needs to give more detail on how the qualification will work. Another important decision at the Board of Directors meeting was to allow North and South Korea to combine the Women s Team event. They both reached the Quarter-finals and requested that they 29

30 should combine for the Semi-final rather than play the match. This was agreed and publicised widely through the world s press. European Table Tennis Union (ETTU) The ETTU have a major problem at the moment which became even worse at the meeting in Halmstad. This all surrounds the decision back in 2013 to pay remuneration to the new President, Ronald Kramer. The circumstances at the time were that the ETTU were in crisis when the previous President, Stefano Bosi, resigned and Secretary General, Jenny Dom, was retiring. A new President was urgently needed and there were no obvious candidates. Some of the leading German officials, together with the ITTF President, Adham Sharara, decided to ask Ronald Kramer to stand. He was not prepared to take on the role without remuneration. Richard Scruton, as Secretary General of the ETTU, gave a detailed report of the circumstances at the time through to the present. The problem now is that all of this is being challenged by a group of countries, mainly from the Balkans, led by Stefano Bosi, who are maintaining that this decision was not legal in accordance with the Constitution and are saying that they are taking the matter to the Luxembourg Court in the near future. There was a long debate about all of this in the Congress following Richard Scruton s report. The majority of the delegates, including the British, Northern European and German delegates, all accepted the position and wanted to close it at this point. However, the Balkan group, supported by Greece, were not supportive. A vote to close the matter was proposed by the German President, supported by the British (including myself) but it needed a two thirds majority to have it put to the vote. Whilst there was a majority, it was not two thirds so it failed. This all took five hours of debate and the rest of the agenda was delayed until the following day, after the ITTF AGM. This will all now be discussed again at the next European Congress in Alicante in September. As things stand at the moment this matter is completely unresolved. The second part of the ETTU meeting revolved largely round the European Olympic Competition which will take place in Minsk, Belarus in June A complicated qualification system was explained which will result in 12 Men s and 12 Women s teams competing plus 58 men and women players for the individual competitions. Commonwealth Table Tennis Federation (CTTF) The CTTF AGM confirmed that the next Championships will be held in India in July/August The 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games were very successful and reports were received from both Jens Lang, the Competition Manager, and myself. The next Commonwealth Games have been awarded to Birmingham, in Table tennis is included except the Disability events need to be confirmed. The decision to accept the ITTF recommendations for a 4 year term was accepted so the next round of Commonwealth elections will take place in India in

31 What was Happening? The War Years: St Bride s Club at the St Bride s Institute kept going throughout the war despite the church next door being reduced to a shell. The Institute provided pleasant recreation for many war-weary souls despite there being only two tables as some had been damaged. One enthusiast Pop Moorat had to be forced downstairs just before flying bombs fell, often not far away, in the time of the doodle bugs. Nicky Nicklesburg, Swiss Number 1, was now known as Mr Nicholls, the name he was naturalised under when he carried out work in the Intelligence Corps of the British Army. Alfred Cooper, former British Serviceman, turned out to be the Austrian, Alfred Liebster. The Liverpool & District League, like the Windmill Theatre, never closed during the war period and carried on printing an annual handbook throughout. With black-out restrictions, transport restrictions and the likelihood of air raids the teams were reduced from five to three players with play only on Saturday and Sunday afternoons so that players could arrive home before dark and also to enable Civil Defence and NFS Clubs to participate. No ETTA affiliation fees were levied from Oliver Tarrant, ETTA Vice-President, of Swindon taught table tennis to over 2,500 GIs and several of them wanted to take him back to the USA as a table tennis showman. Post war newly appointed ETTA Organising Secretary, Charles H Evans, who was in a prisoner of war camp for five years, felt he could put his language skills from those days to good use being able to communicate in French, German and Polish. Two of Brighton s prominent players served abroad, Charles Seaman in Brussels, Ostend and Berlin, and Bert Fretwell in the Mediterranean area. The South of England Open Championships, Metropolitan Open Championships and Home Counties Table Tennis Championships still managed to be run along with other tournaments for various war charities including the British Red Cross, the St John Fund and the Mayoress of St Marleybone s Comforts Fund. A whole host of international and well known players took part including Richard Bergmann, Victor Barna, Maurice Bergl, Gilbert Marshall, Jack Carrington, Harry Rosen, Vera Dace, Marjorie Carrington, Phyllis Hodgkinson and Doris Emdin. Harry Rosen, Eric Filby, Phyllis Hodgkinson, Private E Berger (Czechoslovak Army), Cyril Merrett 31

32 Old Photographs Can you help identify anyone in these old pictures? Hull, Miklos Szabados, Victor Barna, Alfred Liebster on the left. Ken Hyde, second right. Blackpool, Front row: Ken Hyde, Hymie Lurie, Laszlo Bellak, Victor Barna, Miklos Szabados, Charles Davies. Left: Cairo, Ken Hyde taking a breather from the World Championships. Right: Marseilles, On route to Cairo, Ken Stanley, Hymie Lurie and Ken Hyde. 32

33 Front row: Laszlo Bellak, Victor Barna, Miklos Szabados. Back left: Tommy Sears. Second row: Victor Barna, Richard Bergmann. 1st April, 1940, Wolverhampton. Richard Bergmann and Victor Barna. 33