The Irish Para squad continued their successful start to international campaign recently, attending the ITTF World Para Future & U23 Lahti in Finland in April.
Although this time there were some new faces joining world tour regulars, Paddy Vaughan and Sean Geoghegan, the trio of Sam Brennan, Kevin O’Callaghan and Aaron Mellows made their international debut at the Olympic training facility in Pajulahti, Finland and the young debutants took everything they could from the experience.
The event started with Kevin, Sam and Aaron receiving their international classification, a process which is necessary for competing on the world stage. It was a specifically significant moment for Aaron in that he is the very first Class 11 player from TTI to be internationally classified and to compete at an ITTF ranking event – many congratulations to Aaron and to parents Wayne and Andrea in getting him to this point. The first event was the U23’s where Sean, Sam and Aaron were in action. Unfortunately, due to lack of numbers, there was no U23 wheelchair event which kept Kevin on the sidelines for a bit longer than we would have liked. Sean led the way securing one victory from two matches in his group and successfully progressing to the quarter final stage of the class 8 event where he performed superbly to come out a 3-1 winner vs Rothenberger (USA) and progress to the semi-final. Sean put up a good fight against the eventual winner, Hamza Taleb (BEL) but eventually lost out 0-3.
Sam Brennan showed moments of real quality and know how in his two group matches in the class 9 event but unfortunately came out on the wrong side of both matches losing 0-3 to Gadot (ISR) and 1-3 to Muska (CZE). In the class 11 event Aaron Mellows played some brilliant table tennis to secure one win from three against Nabihuz (UKR). Aaron lost out to two strong players from Hong Kong in this round robin of four leaving him in third place over all for the tournament! A great result for Aaron on his debut and in such strong company.
In the senior tournament Paddy Vaughan led the way for team Ireland securing a bronze medal. After losing closely 2-3 to the number one seed, Hansson (SWE) he bounced back to secure a 3-2 victory over Prchlik (CZE) and book his place in the semi-final. In a tough match Paddy lost out 1-3 to Gustafsson (SWE), the eventual winner. Sean had another strong start winning his first match against an Indian opponent before losing to the eventual bronze medallist, Sabio Ruiz (ESP) and Ristollari (USA). Sean gave a great account of himself, playing some of his best table tennis, winning three matches and a medal over the course of the tournament.
Kevin, eager to get started, found himself in quite a tricky group with the number one seed from Sweden, David Olsson, and young French talent Hugo Nou. Kevin gave a great account of himself and learned a lot from both matches, particularly against the younger, Nou. Despite some good chances to win multiple sets, Kevin lost out in both encounters. Kevin took a lot from the event, training with multiple wheelchair players and watching many high-level players and matches.
Sam also had a tough group in the senior class 9 event drawing former Paralympic champion, Tahl Leibovitz ,in his first match. After going down to an extremely strong player in Leibovitz, Sam picked up his performance level considerably. Unfortunately, he could not convert these performances into victories, but this is not an easy endeavour at this level of the game and especially at your first world ranking event. Sam lost his remaining two group matches 1-3 vs Levontiuk (UKR) and Hamami (ISR). Although he could not find a victory in his first world tour event, Sam took so much from the event, training hard every day and soaking up knowledge from the coaches and other players at the event.
Aaron Mellows produced some more great table tennis in the class 11 group stage winning two matches from three vs Averjanov (FIN) 3-0 and Sedelnikov (EST) 3-0, finishing in second place in the group and progressing to the semi finals! Aaron rose his level again in the semi-final vs Chan (HKG) losing 0-3 in a match that was a lot closer than the scoreline suggested. We are extremely proud of Aaron securing a medal in his first world tour event!
Overall, this was a great tournament for the Irish Para team taking three bronze medals away from the tournament. Aside from results on the table, all the players gave 100% effort all week, training very hard, engaging with coaches Sam Logue and Mick Cunningham very well, absorbing the atmosphere and watching as many matches as they could. Not only this but the support the players gave to each other was particularly pleasing.
A big thank you should go out to Mick Cunningham for coaching at the event and sharing his knowledge and vast experience with the players, coaches and parents at the event.
