An Irish Junior Boys selection is currently in Girona, Spain to participate in the Spanish Junior Open, which is part of the ITTF Global Junior Circuit. Sam Logue and Declan O’Brien had the opportunity to participate in a pre-event four day training camp with some of the best young players from around the World, many of whom have qualified for the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. Joined by Irish No.1 Paul McCreery for the tournament, the team were very well prepared for this high quality event.
Today’s play started with a thrilling match against Luxembourg at 0900 hours. Declan O’Brien lost the first against Sven Hansen, before Paul McCreery beat Jim Cloos in straight sets to level the match 1-1. Logue and McCreery were defeated in a hard fought doubles match, before McCreery again levelled the match at 2-2 with a victory over Hansen. This set up a final decider and O’Brien stepped up to the plate with a fine 3-1 victory over Jim Cloos.
Following a brief break, Ireland were back in action with a match against Poland to decide who progressed to the Quarter Final of the Team event. Unfortunately, Poland had too much for the Irish, with Logue and McCreery battling valiantly but ultimately going down 3-0.
The Irish boys now have a break of one day before the singles event on Friday – check back here for full tournament review.