Devaney flies the flag for Ireland again!
Teresa Devaney continued her success winning 2 Gold and 1 Silver at the recent Turkish Veterans Open Tournament.
This was the 25th Year of this event, and attracted a big entry from Russia, Ukraine, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and UK.
Teresa played really well to win the Open over 60’s on day 1. She followed this up with gold in the 60-65 doubles and Silver in 60-65 singles, losing in 4 excellent sets to the current world champion, Larissa Andrevea.
The results of last weekend’s Masters Leinster Open have been published. Click here to view
At this weekend’s Connacht Open, held in Breaffy House, County Mayo, Hannah Lynch_Dawson turned in a performance of pure perfection to claim a treble of titles.
In the Women’s event, Hannah was the top seed having started her season off tith a win at Senior Classification. She had wins over Amanda Taylor and Sarah Timlin before defeating 2nd seed Marta Zareba in the Final to claim the first provincial title of the season . Lynh Dawson paired up with home player Sarah Timlin to claim the Womens Doubles and with International team-mate Gavin Maguire to claim the Mixed Doubles title. A fine weekend for Lynch Dawson as she prepares for this year’s Senior 6 Nations in Largs, Scotland.
On the Men’s side, it was top seed Agurjanovs who was in dominant form and claimed his first title of the season over surprise finalist Sam Logue. Agurjanovs sailed through to the Final, with wins over Brian Devereux, Zak Wilson and Peter Graham. Logue came through an epic 5 setter against Matt Haynes, before beating Luke Dempsey and Tibor Pofok to set up a semi-final with Gavin Maguire. Maguire would have been heavy favourite here, but Logue produced some sparkling table tennis to claim a 3-1 win and set up a Final with Agurjanovs. Agurjanovs had a little bit too much for Logue on the day and claimed the Final and the title in style. In the Men’s Doubles, Alan Walsh and Matt Haynes claimed the title for Leeside TTC. Full results here.
Connacht Senior Open
Breaffey House, Castlebar,
Co. Mayo.
Sat/Sun 11th/12th Oct
Men : 1. V Agurjanovis; 2. S Logue :3. G Maguire/ P Graham
Women : 1. H Lynch Dawson ; 2. M Zareba : 3. C O’Halloran/S Timlin
Men Dbls : 1. A Walsh/M Haynes
Women Dbls : 1. S Timlin/H Lynch DawsonMX Dbls 1. G Maguire/H Lynch Dawson
Class II : 1. B Dunleavy : 2. C Fitzgerald
U-21 Women : 1. E Thompson : 2. A TaylorU-21 Men : 1. Z Wilson ; 2. B Dunleavy
Vets : 1. D Butler : 2. K Devaney
Irish Para Table Tennis player Tom Davis is working to qualify for the 2016 Paralympics and he needs your help. Click to see what you can do to help make his dream come through.
The Bell’s Arena at Perth, Scotland, was the venue for the Veterans Six Nations Tournament, which was held from 12-14 September 2014.
The various Irish teams enjoyed considerable success, and returned home with many medals.
The 40’s team of Kevin Devaney, Pat McCloughan and Dave Gibbons played very well and gained a bronze medal . In the 50’s team event, Dave Pemberton, Keld Jaksland and Jim Storey showed good form and were also awarded with a bronze medal. They lost narrowly to Scotland.
This medal success was repeated by the 70’s team of Liam Perris, Ted Mahaffy and Jim Sheehan, who also gained a bronze medal. A noteworthy success was the Ladies 40 team triumph over Scotland 2.
The highest award gained in the team events, was the silver medal for the 60’s team of Martin Pickles, Brian Finn, Tommy Caffrey, Audrey Robinson and Viv Barry. They had some close games and only lost to a strong English team. Tommy’s performances were the foundation for the success, beating Paul Collins of Wales 11-8 in the fifth set of the deciding match. He also beat England’s number one, Maurice Newman, in a nail-biting fifth set.
The outstanding achievement in the Singles, was the gold medal performance of Teresa Devaney in the Ladies 60’s event. Teresa beat Penny Perry of England in the final for her third consecutive title. Audrey Robinson was awarded a silver medal in the Ladies 70’s. In the Consolation Singles, Pat McCloughan won gold in the 40’s Men’s event, and Audrey Robinson was awarded the gold also, in the Ladies 60’s event.
In the Doubles competition, Pat McCloughan/Kevin Devaney, won a silver medal in the 40’s doubles. Dave Pemberton/Keld Jaksland, won a silver in the 50’s doubles, and in the 60’s doubles, the pairing of Martin Pickles(IRE)/John Magnall(IOM), also gained a silver medal.
Good performances in Singles were registered by Liam Perris in the 70s, Jim Storey and Martin Pickles in the 60s. Tommy Caffrey did not perform to his usual high standards in the 70s. He lost a lacklustre expedite semi-final match against Keith Powell of England. It is most likely that his earlier exertions in the team competition took their toll on him at that late stage.
Colin Judge, Para National Senior Champion and irish international joins Table Tennis Ireland web team as a guest blogger over the coming season – see below for his 1st blog.
Hi! My name is Colin Judge and I’m an Irish para table tennis player. I started playing table tennis at the age of 14 in UCD and I loved the game from my first day. I had tried out a number of sports when I was younger but when I first played table tennis I knew straight away that it was going to be a sport not only that I thoroughly enjoyed but one that I could compete in. I will never forget the days I spent training in UCD and Blackrock and will be forever grateful to my coach back then, Richie Butler, for what he contributed to my game. It was during these days that I learnt the basics of the game, those training sessions were the building blocks for what I would achieve in the coming years and for anything that I might achieve in the future.
However, I played in a number of able-bodied competitions during those years and soon realised that if I ever wanted to compete at the top level it would have to be against people with a similar disability to me. I was born with no legs and one arm and I compete in class 2 in para table tennis. I started playing in the Irish Wheelchair Association in January 2012 and I noticed an improvement in my game immediately as I was now playing at a level closer to my own. In June 2012, I began to compete internationally.
I have been to four competitions in the last year. I went to Belgium last October, Hungary in March and Romania and Spain in June. I have won two bronze medals in these competitions and I hope that over the next year I can add a few more to my collection! It is my dream to qualify for the Paralympics and I know that this dream will not come true without a lot of hard work.
I am writing this in September during my first week back at college. I study Actuary at UCD and I am now in second year. I go to lectures during the day and try to study/swim on the in between. Then I normally train in the evening times, playing in Dundrum Table Tennis Club on a Monday and a Saturday and in Irish Wheelchair Association on a Wednesday. I play in Blackrock College most weeks now and will play for UCD this year as well. I go to an intensive weekend training camp once a month in IWA and plan to train 1:1 with John Murphy and Mick Cunningham over the next year.
I am currently playing in the Autumn League in Dundrum Table Tennis Club in Division 1 as my coach, Tibor Pofok is away with one of my teammates, Rena McCarron Rooney, at the World Para Table Tennis Championships in Beijing and our training is not on. I have been following this event very closely on the live stream and it is during weeks like these that I am reminded of what can be achieved. I would love to be a part of it all some day. I hope that people will be watching me on the live stream the next time!
I am playing as much as I possibly can at the moment in order to prepare myself for France. I will go to the French Open on the 22nd of October and I really hope that I can perform to the best of my ability as it will be my last competition of the year. I would love to end 2014 on a high and then build on my success going into 2015.
Next time I will be talking about how I got on at the French Open and a little bit more about my training/preparation for 2015. I hope that I will have some good news the next time I blog!
If you have any questions for me feel free to leave a comment at the end of this page and I will respond to your questions on my next blog. Thank you very much for reading. Until next time!
Colin
European Team Championships 2014, Lisbon
Ireland will be represented by a Mens team at this years event, which will take place in Lisbon from 24th to 28th September.
Congratulations to the following players who have been selected for our Mens team :
John Murphy (Captain)
Ashley Robinson
Gavin Maguire
Further details on the event can be found at http://www.2014eurotabletennis.com/en/#
The 2014 ITTF Para World Championships will be held in Beijing, China from 6-15 September 2014, and will be the largest ITTF Para World Championships ever staged.
Held once every four years, the ITTF Para Table Tennis World Championships is the most prestigious events in Para Table Tennis.
The upcoming 2014 edition has drawn a total of 630 participants from 48 countries, including umpires, officials, and 314 para athletes who will be battling it out for the gold medals in both Singles and Team events.
Ireland will be represented by Rena McCarron Rooney in the Class 1/2 Singles event. Rena will be coached by Tibor Pofok, and has Susan Murphy Keating as part of the backroom team. The top 12 players between these two classes will battle t out for medals in Beijing, and McCarron Rooney will be working hard to score some big wins over some higher ranked opposition. Current title holder Jing Liu from China is on home soil and will be amongst the favourites to claim gold. World No.1 Nadeja Pouchpacheva from Russia will also be many people’s favourite to upset the home crowd – McCarron Rooney will not be intimidated in this company and has recorded big wins against the likes of Clot and Gossiaux-Sirreau of France at the Slovenian Open earlier this year. All in Table tennis Ireland wish Rena a fantastic tournament – keep eyes on www.irishtabletennis.com in the lead up to the event, which starts on 8th September. We would encourage all Irish Table Tennis fans to post support for Rena to comments below.
Rena has gives us an insight into her preparation leading up to the event.
This competition is a big deal for everyone involved. The World Championships appear on the calendar only once every four years, so in fact, we are preparing for this tournament for four years. Obviously, the focus narrows as it draws nearer. At this point, there remains little to be done.
Yes. I am prepared in as far as I can be. I did have an injury worry but Paralympics Ireland Doctor Joe Conway sorted it out with his magic gel.
During the season I have made some adjustments, I have changed my rubbers, I got a new table tennis playing chair and I was supplied by Table Tennis Ireland with Gerfloor sports flooring which we compete on at major tournaments – I have installed this at home for practice.
The competition will be tough. But, I believe in my own game. I have competed well during the season. I have confidence in my coach Tibor Pofok. This small Irish team, which consists of myself, Tibor and Susan Murphy is grateful for the support received to date from Table Tennis Ireland, Paralympic Ireland, IWA-Sport and the Irish Sports Council. We would like to thank our training partners and the senior squad for their continued support.
The journey to China is onerous. We are unsure of what lies ahead of us in terms of travel, facilities, food etc, but we are looking forward to the challenge. There are a lot of uncertainties out there, but the one thing which I know for sure is that I will play well.
Finally, thank you to friends and family who continue to give endless unqualified support and for always understanding.
Note:
Para Classification – What is Class1/2?
· Class 1:
No sitting balance with severe reduction of function in the playing arm.
· Class 2:
No sitting balance with reduction of function in the playing arm.
DTTB Youth Camp – Germany 2014
An Irish development squad recently spent two weeks at an international training camp hosted by the DTTB – the German Table Tennis Federation. This is a top class annual camp attended by players from across Europe. Ireland was represented at the camp by Coach Kieran Reilly and players Luke Dempsey, Erin Thompson, Elayna McGlone, Charlie Fitzgerald & Ryan McConkey.
The camp had coaches from Germany, Denmark & Sweden, and our squad was exposed to a variety of coaching styles.
The players over the course of the fortnight worked hard on the tables with particular focus on serving exercises, and also off the table, with regular circuit training and running sessions. The camp also worked on team building exercises which bonded the Irish squad in attendance. Towards the end of the camp, a singles tournament took place – the Irish squad performed really well with Erin Thompson making the Final of the Girls and Luke Dempsey winning the Boys event outright.
This was a really good camp for players ahead of the new season and also for our coach Kieran Reilly who learned a lot from the variety of coaching styles at the camp.
On Saturday 2nd of August 2014, a team of 2 coaches Krzysiek Ring and Louise Long, logistics manager Liz Gantly and 7 table tennis players Alex Henebry, Sinead Keon, Marcus Ward, Mark Henderson, Paddy Vaughan, Conor O’ Callaghan and Jack Colbert attended the IWAS games in Stoke Mandeville, UK. This was the 10th World Junior games and included the sports of athletics, archery, swimming, race running , power lifting, wheelchair fencing as well as table tennis. This event is for athletes under the age of 23.
Paralympic Table Tennis is usually classified into standing and sitting players both containing classes depending on disability of the athlete. In this IWAS Games it was decided that there would be a team wheelchair event and a team standing event and all classes would play in the same event. There was also a wheelchair singles event which included all players of different classes which proved very difficult as it was filled with top class players. The standing event was also played with mixed classes and was divided between over 16 and under 16. There was also a special event for class 6 and 7 players standing players even though they played in the main event against their age group. There was also a ladies event.
Before this event two intensive training camps were held in the IWA and both lasted for two days each. These training camps show the dedication of both the players and their parents as players travel from all over Ireland.
Classifications and the opening ceremony was on Sunday, 3rd of August which saw 31 countries participate. The table tennis singles event started on Monday 4th of August and concluded on Tuesday 5th of August and the team event continued for the duration of the Games.
In the Singles standing under 16 event Conor O’ Callaghan had a tough group and came third beating players from Greece and Kazakhstan. He won a gold medal in class 6 and 7 with Greek players winning silver and bronze.
Paddy Vaughan won matches against players from Canada , two players from Kazakhstan, and from Greece and only narrowly lost a match to a player from Kuwait and progressed to the semi finals where he lost to Curtis Caron from Canada and received a bronze medal.
In the over 16 event, Sinead Keon was Ireland’s only hopefully but the competition proved to be very tough as she played a class 9 and two class 10 players in her group. She did not progress out of her group. In the girls standing competition Sinead Keon won a silver medal beating Eldona Baduova from Kazakhstan in the final.
Due to the fact the wheelchair event was not classed it was an extremely tough event for Irish players. In the wheelchair event Jack Colbart had a tough group and beat Giadi Rossi from Italy in a tight 5 setter winning 3/2 but did not progress out of his group.
Alex Hereby lost close matches to Hong Kong and Great Britain and beat M. Korgi from UAE 3/0 but again failed to progress out of his group. Mark Henderson had again a tough group losing matches to players from Italy, Great Briain and Greece. Marcus Ward also had tough matches losing to Austria, Hong Kong and Great Britain.
All in all it was tough yet beneficial event for all the players involved. The fact that it was not divided into classes made it extremely hard for the players. This tournament was extremely beneficial to both players and coaches and has given us a step in the right direction for the next training camp on the 16th of August
Special Thanks should be given to Liz Gantly who did an impressive job in organising logistics for all the Irish Athletes that attended on team Ireland from Athletics, swimming and table tennis.
Final Results:
Gold – Conor O’ Callaghan – Class 6/7
Silver – Sinead Keon – ladies event
Bronze – Paddy Vaughan – Over 16’s event
Louise Long
Krzysiek Ring
