Partnered by Welsh player Anna Hursey, Sophie reached the final of the Girls Junior Doubles losing to Russian players and winning a Silver Medal. In the Cadet Girls Team event, again partnered by Anna plus a Portuguese player, Sophie won a bronze medal after losing in the Semi Finals to the winning Russian team in a close match.
The Cadet Girls Doubles brought further success for Sophie. She reached the Semi finals again partnered by Welsh player Anna Hursey losing in straight sets to Chinese TPE pair, LIAO and LIN. Another Bronze medal!
Sophie’s last event of her trip was the Cadet Girls Singles where she reached the quarter finals losing to Chinese TPE player LIAO Ting – Yao 3/2 in a high quality match.
With a medal total of 1 Silver and 2 Bronze it was a successful trip!
TTI is currently working on building up further the Association archives, and populating the respective ‘Rolls of Honour’ for the Provincial Opens – Ulster, Munster, Connacht & Leinster.
If you have any information on the winners of the Mens Singles and Ladies Singles events at these tournaments, we would very much appreciate if you could forward the details to the Office.
We would also very much like to receive any scans or copies of clippings, photographs or other details that people are willing to share.
As much as possible we are looking for the following;
Mens and Ladies Singles – names and clubs of Winner/Runner Up
Date of event
Venue of event
If possible, please bear in mind that results will be grouped by season – so, a tournament that took place in November 1996, for example, will be part of the 1996/1997 season.
The World Championship of Ping Pong, also known as WCPP, is an annual ping pong event promoted by English sports impresario Barry Hearn, using old-fashioned wooden racquets covered with sandpaper, instead of the high tech rubber of modern table tennis. This results in longer and more entertaining rallies.
The hugely popular event featured 4 Irish players: Paul McCreery, Gavin Maguire, Zak Wilson and young Jonny Mooney (currently ranked Irish joint No 2 Cadet).
From the start, Paul McCreery was in simply outstanding form and delighted his Irish and PWC fans with two 2-0 victories over Mlynarski (Poland) and Milchin (Germany) to reach the last 32 draw and the knockout stages. There he met the highly rated Russian Dmitrij Bobrov, and defeated him 2-1, with the TV cameras switching from the TV table to cover the final points of the match. Paul won 15-12, 4-15, 15-13, which led to the “pitch invasion” by his fans! Last 16 accomplished!
Paul then faced seasoned Ping Pong campaigner Martin Groenewold (Netherlands), who came with strong Dutch support. Paul produced a great display which featured what the TV commentators called the “rally of the tournament”, winning 15-6, 15-11. Quarter final place accomplished!
It was then all eyes on the match between Gavin Rumgay (Scotland) and Benjamin Sorensen (Denmark) to see who Paul would face for a place in the semi-finals! Gavin Rumgay pulled everything out to take this match 15-14 in the decider.
Paul may have wished for the Danish opponent, having been training with Gavin Rumgay leading up to these Championships. The match went in Rumgay’s favour, in a nerve-wracking match 2-1. Well done to Paul in achieving his first quarter-final, and the feeling is that there is more to come…
Gavin Maguire was very unfortunate not to make the last 32, losing to Peejay Atienza (PHI) 15-14 in the decider, and taking a win over Italian player, Gallina. He then faced Martin Groenewold (Netherlands) losing again by the narrowest of margins 15-14 in 3rd.
Zak Wilson lost 2-0 to Bobrov (Russia) and 2-1 to Maybanks (Hungary) in his group and was eliminated. 14 year old Jonny Mooney drew the attention of the TV cameras, but was also eliminated, losing to Chris Doran (England) and England’s top Junior, Ethan Walsh.
In the Semis, Alex Flemming (Germany) defeated Gavin Rumgay 15-4, 15-9, while Champion Andrew Baggaley (3 times winner) advanced to the Final with a win over Liang Xue (China).
The stage was set for what was to become the greatest WCPP Final ever, with Baggaley winning the event (for the 4th time!) 14-15, 15-8, 14-15, 15-8, 15-14. With some rallies exceeding 40 strokes, the players fought to the end, with nothing between them, as the scoreline shows!
The Board of Table Tennis Ireland has recently completed a review of its Sanctions Scheme following a lengthy consultation with the 4 Branches, Umpires and Management Committee.
The updated Scheme will take effect from Monday 17 February 2020 and will apply as previously to all tournaments under the auspices of the Association.
Please click HERE to download the Sanctions Scheme
We have just become aware that Sophie Earley and her Welsh partner, Anna Hursey, have reached the final of the Junior Girls Doubles at the Czech Junior & Cadet Open. Playing out of her age category, Sophie and partner have beaten a Slovak pair in the last 64, a Hungarian Pair in the last 32, a Spanish pair in the last 16. In the last 8, they were successful versus the No. 4 seeds, a Swedish/Romanian duo to reach the semi final where they beat the top Russian pairing 3/2 to proceed to the final.
Good luck to Sophie & Anna in tonight’s final at 7.30pm. Live streaming of the tournament this afternoon is available on the link below:
After the final tonight, Sophie has the Cadet Girls Team event to look forward to tomoorrow followed by the Cadet Girls Singles on Saturday.
A Para Development Squad travelled to Malmo, Sweden, last weekend to represent TTI in the annual Malmo Paralympic Open Competition. The squad was one of the largest in recent years with 12 players from all three Paralympic classes and three provinces represented. Indeed the Irish squad was the largest single group of players among the 8 countries, 40 clubs, and 124 players who entered the Malmo Open this year. Supporting our 12 players were coaches/managers/minders Susan Keating and Mick Cunningham, along with additional coaching from Rachel, Hiroto and Chinatsu, who also assisted when coaches were under pressure to cover all of the matches. Mick also provided the entertainment but, alas, what was said in Malmo, stays in Malmo….! While our overall approach to the competition was one of developing the skills and confidence in our emerging players, our overall medal toll tells us that we are well on the way on that journey – a whopping 2 gold, 5 silvers and 2 bronze medals with an additional 5 quarter-finalists in the knockout stages of a number of classes.
Friday 7th involved all of the doubles matches. Gerry Commins won gold (partnering Arnoy Brede of Bergen) in the Wheelchair Doubles final, where the final opposition was provided by our own Mark Henderson and Alicia Winter, on a score of 3-1. In the standing doubles, Aaron Mellows and Matthew Collins progressed to the last 8 of the knockout stage, but were unlucky to come up against the top seeds and eventual winners and lost 3-0. Matthew Flynn and Conor Halpin qualified for the plate event in the Standing Doubles, but lost out in the last 8. So, a great start with 1 gold and 2 silver medals plus a quarter-final placing in a knockout stage.
Saturday 8th saw matches for players over 21 years organised across 3 mixed performance classes along with a Youth (U/15) class for both wheelchair and standing players and a Junior (U/18) class for both wheelchair and standing players. In the largest class – Performance Class 3 – Gerry Commins, Mark Henderson and Patrick Sweeney qualified out of their respective groups, but were beaten at the last 16 of the knockout stage. Aoife Kelly and Aaron Daly both went through to the last 16 in the plate, but lost out at that stage. Gary Sorenson enjoyed a wonderful run in the plate and eventually finished joint third winning a bronze medal – mission accomplished for both Gary and Susan! In the Junior Standing event Matthew Collins qualified out of his group but lost out at the last 8 in the knockout stage, while Aaron Daly, Matthew Flynn and Caoimhe Folan went into the plate but lost out at the last 8 stage. The undoubted highlight of Day 2 came in the Youth Standing class where Conor Halpin, playing very well throughout, won the plate final. In the same class Aaron Mellows was very unlucky to finish outside of the medals in 5th place. So, another gold medal plus a bronze medal for Ireland!
Sunday 9th presented the Squad with competition in singles matches in their respective Paralympic classes. Here we enjoyed our largest medal haul and some outstanding performances. In class 3, Alicia Winter went into the plate event and eventually made it to the final where she finished second, winning a fine silver medal. In class 3-4 combined, Gerry Commins and Mark Henderson also progressed into their plate event where Gerry won a silver medal and Mark, losing out in the semi-final, won a bronze medal. In class 7 both Matthew Flynn and Caoimhe Folan lost out in the last 16 of their plate event. In class 8 Conor Halpin fared better in getting to the last 16 stage of the knockout event, but eventually lost out here. In class 11, Aoife Kelly, Matthew Collins and Aaron Mellows qualified out of their respective groups into the knockout stage. In an unfortunate draw Aaron and Matthew were pitched against each other in the last 16 and, after a titanic struggle, Matthew prevailed on a 3-2 score. Both Matthew and Aoife failed to get beyond the last 8 stage having been beaten by the eventual finalists respectively. In the plate event Gary Sorenson went out in the last 16, Aaron Daly and Patrick Sweeney progressed into the last 8 where they were drawn to play each other. Patrick prevailed 3-1 and eventually he made it to the final where he lost out 3-1 despite playing very well. So, a medal toll of 3 silver and 1 bronze for Day 3.
Finally, thanks to the coaches for their unfailing enthusiasm and encouragement of the players; thanks must also go to all our players for a wonderfully competitive attitude over the weekend and for being great ambassadors for themselves and for TTI; last, but not least, special mention must go out to the family members who travelled to Malmo to support the players and who contributed to a very enjoyable social experience.
The 2020 Connacht Open will take place at the Breaffy House Resort, Demesne, Castlebar, Co. Mayo.
Please click HERE to download the entry form and tournament information
Entries should be emailed to [email protected] or should be posted to Niall O’ Flaherty, Glenascaul, Oranmore, Co.Galway. Please note that players from Northern Ireland can pay organisers on the day of the tournament.
Closing date for entries is FRIDAY 14th of FEBRUARY 2020. Late entries may be accepted after this deadline but a late entry fee of €20 will be applicable
The Masters tournament saw a return to the Glenburn venue in Belfast after an absence of a number of years. Many players expressed an appreciation of the excellent playing conditions and facilities available at the venue.
The Ladies event featured a Round Robin of five players, and Geraldine Greene was a very worthy winner, winning all her matches. The second place in the group was closely contested, with Anne Marie Nugent, Gillian Richardson and Ikuko McMahon all winning two matches each. On countback, Anne Marie gained the second position, with Ikuko third and Gillian Fourth.
The 40’s groups saw some very good matches and in the knockout stages, Rory Scott had a very close encounter with Dave Butler and only won by 3-2. Phil Wallace then played Rory, and Phil overcame the long pimples master, to progress to the final against his Ormeau team mate and friend, Daryl Strong. Daryl in reaching the final, had overcome Tibor Pofók in the previous round. The final between the two Ormeau contenders was very close. At one stage it looked as if Phil would pull off a famous victory when he was 9-4 up in the 5th and final game. Daryl, however, drew on all his experience and triumphed in the end by 12-10.
The 50’s saw some good wins by Paul Gallagher and also by Willie Cherry, who was playing in his first Masters tournament of the season. Kieran Murphy was also playing in his first tournament for a long time, but did not progress past the group stage. Willie had a very good win against Kevin Mackey in the semi final and Paul also reached the semi final by winning 3-0 against Norman Nabney. Paul then lost to Pat McCloughan 3-0. The final was an excellent match between Pat and Willie, and on this occasion Pat was the worthy winner.
The 60’s event also featured some very good matches. In the first round of the knockout, Barry Dickson progressed in four close games against Albert Coulter. Norman Nabney had a close match with Branislav Jakovetic and reached the semi final by winning 3-2. In the other half of the draw, Kariem Sabir played well to win against Finn, and Martin Pickles also played well to overcome Dickson. In the semi finals, Tommy Caffrey had a comfortable win against Norman, and Kariem progressed in four games against Martin. In the final, Kariem played a steady, controlled game and triumphed against Tommy by 3-1.
In the 70’s, there were good wins for David Jacobson in the group stages. Tommy made up for his disappointments in the 60’s, by playing well throughout and progressed through to the semi final without too many problems. Ken Peare had a good win over David, and Oliver Adamson played well to also reach the semi final stages. Oliver then met Martin Pickles, and lost 3-1 and Ken lost to Tommy by 3-0. In the final, Tommy showed what a good competitor he is. Having lost the first game to Martin, Tommy drew on his vast experience, changed to a more controlled aggressive game and went on to win on a scoreline of -10, 5,3,5.
Our thanks go to Glenburn table tennis club and the people who made the tournament possible. These include Herbie and Neil, who were at the top table throughout, Norman, Willie, Martin and Brian.
Fortified with New Year resolutions, fresh tactical approaches and some with steps over a new age threshold, TT rivalries were renewed at Pingzone for the Munster Open 2020. Some smashing encounters were served up among the 58 competitors, with many very creditworthy performances. The Ladies event featured several sparkling confrontations with no shortage of thrust, counter and riposte to banish any thoughts of Christmas bargains from the scene. Highlight among four five-set matches must be Annemarie’s victory over Teresa on a scoreline of -10,13,-10,8,9. Some of the rallies were breathtaking, and it set the tone for the remainder of the competition. Gillian beat both Teresa and Paula in tight fifth sets. Ger eventually won out overall, but all of the ladies can derive satisfaction from elements of their individual performances. Well done!
The 40s groups saw some cracking matches, with one three-way tie decided by just ONE point. Tibor scored a notable win over Rory to reverse their Ballymena result. Brian Devereux seems to be developing his long pimple skills to good effect, beating Dave Pemberton in five, and taking a game from Daryl in the semi-final. Daryl eventually triumphed over Pat McCloughan in the final. Normal service restored, so!
The 50s saw good wins for Paul Norgrove, Dave Gibbons and Mark McAlister in the early knockout stages. However, pick of the bunch must be Sean McAnaney beating Kieran Burke on a scoreline of -10,-10,7,9,8 and following up with a victory over Branko in four. Some of his returns against Kieran were outstanding, disguising float with chop, and really subverting Kieran’s confidence. Pat beat Mark in a close semi-final, but he beat Sean comfortably in the final.
How can one extol the substance of Kieran Burke’s performance in the 60s? Listening to Dylan on TIME OUT OF MIND coming to the tournament actually set him up for Eugene O’Neill’s LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT! Playing Robby in the first knock-out round, he was 1-5 down in the fifth, Robby spanking winners for fun. Kieran clawed back to 8-9, then levelled at 10-10 after Robby’s time out. Kieran hit a good forehand for 11-10, and then Robby served off! Kieran beat Finn in three straight, then again in four in the 50s before losing to McAnaney as outlined above. Next, he gave a wonderful display to beat Tommy Caffrey 9,10,9 in the semi- final of the 60s. He just went loop, roll, kill to drill sergeant specifications!! However, he was 8-3 up in the third, but Tommy did level at 9-9. Shaw beat Branko -7,9,6,8 in the other semi-final. The final saw both players hit very wide winners which the opponent actually returned with interest! Kieran led 9-6 in the first, wobbled somewhat, and lost 10-12 when Philip just hit winners for fun on both wings. The second game followed the same pattern, Philip coming back to win by the narrowest margin again. Fortunes were reversed in the third game, with Kieran overturning Philip’s healthy advantage to sneak it 11-8. The fourth game was key; very tight, with errant serves being roundly punished by both players. Kieran eked out a lead, and just edged home 11-9. Kieran raced out to a 4-1 lead in the fifth, won a great rally to go 6-1, and just kept going away to win out. Fatigue obviously affected both players, and may have banished any negativity from Kieran’s mindset. A disappointing finish to a fabulous match!
David Jacobson continued his good form from the 60s to lead Tommy Caffrey 2-0 in the final of the 70s. However, in the crunch, Tommy changed tack at the start of the third, opened up a big lead, and David just could not find a way back. He can be well pleased with his performance having changed to half-long pimples. Shay O’Reilly and Jimmy Fleming also played very well. Sadly, Jimmy misplaced his camera during the day. It has not escaped our notice that Jim Storey finally registered an all-important victory over Martin. A new decade indeed!
Our thanks to Sharon, Ger, both Davids and Jim for the successful completion of the tournament. A 40s Round Robin was even completed! Willingness to umpire matches greatly helped, and Ray seemed to enjoy testing out his long lenses. Hopefully Roman enjoyed the event as much as everybody else. Anna’s assistance was greatly appreciated.
We offer our condolences on the recent passing of Peadar Wiley, a member of Crofton and Terenure. Team mate of a young Jim Langan, he was a fount of knowledge on hard bat players from a bygone era. Formerly Captain of Lucan GC, he played on two Barton Cup winning teams. Les Whittaker, a great friend of Irish veterans table tennis, has also died. Both of them will be greatly missed by those fortunate to have known them. Our best wishes go to all of our members who are coping with serious illness at this time.
Shopping Basket
Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
