tti1

Rena Rooney

Preparations

We travelled to this competition feeling confident. We had been preparing for this event since this time last year, when we returned from the World Championships. This time we got it almost perfect, as I lost to only one player, Russia’s Nadejda Pushpasheva.

Our preparations were forensic. We established our goal.  We followed a periodised training programme, we analysed the opposition and we trained deliberately and we adhered to a strength and conditioning programme. In addition, we worked on the mental aspect of my game. I had to believe that I could beat the opposition and I achieved this by adopting a “mindful” attitude.

We worked hard…. I have trained 5 or 6 days a week with Ronan, my coach, and with two local training partners who unselfishly are helping us to achieve our gaols.

Tournament

I was able to stay in a positive mind-set throughout the tournament. I felt comfortable in the hotel and at the tournament venue. The Irish team was small and was comprised of only 4 people in total and we worked well together.

The Competition

I played some great table tennis. I had some nervous moments, as in the final when I just couldn’t concentrate and focus. I fought well and had some tough battles, recovering from 8-2 down in the 4th set against Rossi in the semi to win that set and win the 5th to secure a place in the final. There were no easy matches. My 3rd group match was against Podda, whom I have been battling against for years and whom only recently I have managed to get the upper hand.

The Result

I am a silver medallist in a European Championships. I don’t believe that Ireland has ever been in this position before and so I am very proud of our achievement. Initially, I was distraught to have lost the final and feel that I did not “do myself justice” as over the summer months I had taken Pushpasheva to the 5th set twice. I am over this now……we did fantastic…..

This is truly a team medal. Over the years I have had many great coaches. I have great training partners both at home and at national squad level and internationally. I have great support from family and friends, and I am supported by Sports Council, PI and TTI. Thank you one and all…..

Thanks to my husband and coach Ronan who has instituted and managed my overall training programme for this event.

Qualification for the Rio Paralympics is our next gaol. The top 10 world ranked players will be announced mid-January. Fingers crossed……

Rena_Rio_Q (1)

Rena Claims Euro Silver in Denmark

Ireland has never won a medal at a Para TT European Championships.  Until now, that is!  Last week in Vejle, Denmark, Rena McCarron Rooney won a silver medal for Ireland at the European Championships. 

A team of 2 players and 2 coaches represented Ireland at the event.  Rena McCarron Rooney and Colin Judge, both class 2 and both current national Irish champions, were accompanied by Ronan Rooney and Susan Keating (Murphy).

Colin had a tough group, his first group match being against current European Champion Rafal Czuper, ranked 4 in the latest world rankings.  He played well but lost in straight sets.  Following a loss in 4 sets to Perlic from Serbia (WR 11,) Colin had a great win over Crosara from Italy in 5 sets.  He let slip 2 match points in the third set but eventually dug in well to win it in 5.  Despite not qualifying from the group for the knockout stages, the experience will benefit him for the future.

Rena’s first group match was also against current European Champion (Nadejda Pushpasheva from Russia.)  Despite losing this she qualified from the group as the runner-up.  Following 3 great wins, firstly against Brill from Israel, then against Clara Podda from Italy (ranked 7 in the world,) and finally against Giada Rossi, also from Italy and ranked 8 in the world, Rena found herself in the final, again playing Pushpasheva.  Unfortunately the occasion got the better of her in the end as she went down to a strong opponent in straight sets.  Despite losing the final, Rena felt very proud of her silver medal, and felt that her hard work over many years has finally paid off.

National Coach Ronan Rooney was full of praise for both players following their performances.  “Rena’s achievement cannot be overstated, this being Ireland’s first ever singles medal of any colour at a European Championships.  And Colin will benefit from the experience, this being his first major championship.  Both players have improved this year, and Rena is now in a great position to qualify for the Rio Paralympics next year.”

Colin_Judge-1-1

Colin Judge First International Singles Title

Colin in action

Colin Judge has won the Romanian Para Open Singles event. He went in as top seed and produced an outstanding performance, dominating his opponents and producing results as follows;
Group:
Straight sets wins over Imbuzan(Romania) and Chen(Taipei)
Semi-Final
3-0 against Huang(Taipei)
Final
3-0 against Vukovic(Croatia)


Although these were expected wins for Colin and may not have a huge impact on his ranking it will hopefully set him up for a good run at Thailand Open, which he travels to next month.

tti1

Young Para Stars Medal in Glasgow

Paddy Vaughan and Conor Callaghan travelled to the Glasgow Open this weekend. Both of them won Silver in there own classes 6 and 8 respectively, another fantastic result from these two young players. 

In the mixed classes, both boys were in action once more. This time Paddy reached the quarter finals before he was overcome by the eventual winner despite a brave effort. In the same event, Conor went one step further, making a strong run to the semi final before he too went down to the winner, a class 10 player.

Well done to both on a successful weekend..

Conor Gallagher
Paddy Vaughan
Colin_Judge-1-1

German Open beckons for Colin Judge

Rio hopeful Colin Judge heads off once again today in his quest to qualify for the 2016 Paralympics.  This time it’s to Bayreuth, Germany for the German Open.    

This is Colin’s first tournament since the Italian Open in Lignano last March.  This time he has been drawn in a group of 4 with Stephane Molliens (France,) Kim Kyung Mook (Korea) and Tomasz Jakimczuk (Poland.)  He needs to finish in the top 2 in the group to qualify for the knockout stages.

National coach Ronan Rooney is hopeful that the successes of early tournaments can continue saying this tournament affords Colin the opportunity to gain vital ranking points to move him closer to a Rio qualification slot.

Rena_presentation_Slovakia_Open_2015 (1)

Rena McCarron Rooney’s fine form continues at the Slovakia Open

Having picked up a Silver medal at last weeks Para Slovenia Open Rena McCarron Rooney’s fine form continued as she progressed to the semi-final of the Para Slovakia Open today.  

She had a narrow 3:2 loss in the group stage to Pouchpacheva (WR 3 and top seed) before a really good win against WR8 Gossiaux of France. In this morning’s quarter final she beat Bootwansirina of Thailand WR6, recovering from two sets down to win a huge match 3:2. In this afternoons semi final she was beaten 3:1 by LaFaye of France (WR) but she picked up a bronze medal and more importantly vital ranking points towards Rio 2016 qualification.

So, excellent back-to-back Factor 40 tournaments for Rena that should see her firmly in the World Top 10 when the rankings released later this month.

Rena’s next tournament is the Para German Open in the last week in May.

tti1

Latest Blog Entry written by Colin Judge

My 2nd Blog


Hi everyone! I have been very busy since my last blog. This week I will talk about my preparation for the French Open and how I got on in the competition. I will also tell you a little bit about my plans for the future and my training for the big year ahead. I practiced really hard during September and October. I trained five times every week and got 1:1 coaching with John Murphy and Mick Cunningham. We worked on everything but focused mainly on the weaker aspects of my game. These sessions were very constructive and very beneficial and as a result I found that I had a lot more confidence in my game during the French Open last week. I also found that my teammates in IWA contributed a lot to my training in the weeks before my competition. I was able to practice what I had worked on with John and Mick against all the different members of my team. I think it is very important to play with different players and I believe that there is something to be learned from everyone. So I felt that my preparation for the French Open couldn’t have been any better but I was very well aware that preparation could only take me so far. I travelled to Nice with my friend and teammate, Des Ryan, on Wednesday the 23rd of October. When we arrived at the airport we got the bus to Hyéres just outside of Toulon. We practiced at the training facility that evening and then went back to the hotel for dinner and an early night. The competition would start early in the morning.

My first match was against the world number one, Fabien Lamirault. He played very well and beat me in straight sets. However, I knew that I could not let this defeat knock my confidence. I had a very important game later that day which would determine whether or not I made it out of the group stages. I played Gianni Verzino later that day and won the match 3-1 which meant that I had qualified for the quarter finals.

The next day I faced Stephane Molliens, the world number 6 from France. He won a very close first set but I found form in the second and third set and had a 2-1 lead going into the fourth. Stephane then came back very strong which meant that we would go into a fifth and final set. Stephane continued to play at the top of his game right until the end and won the match 11-9 in the fifth. This defeat was really hard for me to take but I didn’t feel disheartened. Stephane is, in my opinion, the best player I’ve played in an international competition and I felt that I had played very well in the singles event overall. There were many more matches to be played over the next few days and I knew that there was still a big chance for me to turn things around. My luck would change in the team event! 

I won seven from eight singles matches in the team event. I played some very good table tennis and got great wins against some very highly ranked players.

I had to play Fabien Lamirault, the world number one, again in the opening match of the team event. I was eager for revenge but knew that this was going to be a very difficult game.  I played very well in the first two sets and managed to win them both which meant I was 2-0 up going into the third set. It was a great start for me but I didn’t want to get complacent, I knew Fabien would come back strong. He won the third set 11-3 and the fourth set 11-4 which meant we were going into a fifth set. The momentum was with him so I needed a big performance in this final set. A big crowd began to gather and my heart began to beat. I had been in this situation so many times before and lost so I knew this time that I needed to do something different. I needed to play how I practice and not let my fear of losing ruin my chance of winning. This is what my coach, Tibor Pofok, who helped me so much throughout the week, told me during the timeout. On this occasion I took my chance and I beat the number one in the world. I was over the moon! My best international result ever. 

I was unfortunate to have missed out on the medals at the French Open but I was delighted with how I played and with the games I won and I think that this is more important. I was also very happy to see my good friend and roommate, Tom Davis, play so well throughout the competition and get some great wins against some very highly ranked players. It just goes to show that anything is possible if you work hard. I still have a lot more work to do before my competitions in 2015 but it was nice to end the year on a high. I am back in Dublin now and I am very keen to continue training hard. I will go to a squad session next weekend and a Paralympic training camp in Athlone the following weekend and I am looking forward to getting back to it. I know now what I need to work on and I am determined to work on all aspects of my game in the coming months. Every session counts ahead of the biggest year in my table tennis career.

The next time I will talk a bit about my preparation for the Irish National Championships and my international competitions which follow afterwards. If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment at the end of the page and I will respond to your questions on my next blog. Thank you very much for reading and for all the support.

Until next time!

tti1

Judge Lays Down the Law at French Para Open

Colin Judge and Tom Davis, two of Ireland’s fastest developing para table tennis stars returned recently from the Cote d’Azur Open in France, with some big performances and big results under their belt.

Davis, competing in the Class 10 Para classification, recorded a win in the singles event group stage over French player Grasset in straight sets. Davis went into the event at World Rank 31 and had Daybell of Great Britain and Glazov in Russia as the seeds in his group, Daybell is WR: 7 and Glazov WR: 14, so a tough ask for the Donic player. He pushed Glazov all the way and had chances, but eventually lost 1:3, followed by a straight sets loss to Daybell. 

In the Team Event, Davis first faced Class 9 opponent Nozdrunov who is World Ranked 3 in this class, a class which many observers feel is Davis’ true class. Tom played fantastic table tennis, dismantling his opponent in straight sets – a significant victory for the always improving Irish junior international. He followed this up with two wins against Brazilian opposition and a win over Great Britain’s Facey-Thompson. He will take significant positives from this event as he becomes more experienced on the international stage – watch this space for big progress in 2015 as Tom strives towards Rio 2016 qualification. 

Judge has been threatening a breakthrough all season as he slowly has moved up the ranking list without ever recording that big win against a top 10 player. He has invested significant time and energy into his training and that all came to fruition at the French Open. He qualified through his group despite a tough 0:3 loss to Lamirault, the recent World Champion and current World Number 1, gaining a win over the Swiss player Verzino to progress. In the Quarter Final stage, he faced World Ranked 7 Molliens of France, and at one stage had a 2:1 sets lead and was looking to cause a huge shock. Molliens recovered however and eventually progressed in a 5 set thriller, where home advantage and home support definitely counted – all four semi-finalists were France internationals. 

Judge had to wait for that shock result but it came in a fashion that not even his most optimistic supported could have predicted. Going into the team event, he again faced Lamirault, who has been dominant at this level for a number of years and has a 2012 London Games medal in his collection. Judge performed heroically, racing into a 2:0 lead before being drawn back to 2:2 in a match that attracted huge interest in the hall. Judge showed huge composure to drive home in the last set for a massive breakthrough victory over the World Number 1, claiming the last set 11-8. This win sparked a flurry of wins, with Judge claiming 7 of 8 in the Team event, also defeating Bedos(WR:25), Michaud(WR:38), Barukh(WR:40), Nigri(WR:68) and Nazirov(WR:48) and another unranked Russian. Post event, Judge was understandably elated as his international season closes off for 2014:

“I am really happy with my performance in the French Open this week! I missed out on the medals but I beat the world number one!! My best international result ever. I also got some other great wins throughout the competition. Delighted that all my hard work has paid off. Can’t wait to play more competitions again next year. Thank you all so much for the support!” 

November World Rankings have yet to be published, but Judge now should be just inside the top 40 from a starting position of 53 – a huge jump and on a huge confidence boost ahead of 2015, while Davis should also see a bump in his rankings into the top 30 ahead of pre-Paralympic Games qualification year.