The annual Stroud Junior Closed Table Tennis Tournament took place at Wycliffe College on March 23rd with an all-time record of 39 entries, writes Jim Hurford.
U11 SINGLES
The group stage featured several close matches
Last year’s winner Arthur Greenwood lost the first game against Ben Arnold but came back to win 7-11, 11-3, 11-9. Ben then had another very close match with Ray O’Brien which Ray just managed to take 15-17, 11-4, 10-12. Ted Skeats played exceptionally well against all the others and was unlucky to come away without a win. Arthur retained his title by beating Ray in the final 11-2, 11-6, 9-11, 11-4
BOYS U13 SINGLES
20 boys competed in four groups of five for the U13 trophy.
Group 1 favourite and number 1 seed Niall Walker eased his way into the quarter finals with four wins out of four. Stanley Flavell also progressed to the quarter finals but only after being pushed all the way by Rufus Dare and Jacob Grayling.
James Eyre was on form in group 2 winning his matches against Ben Arnold, Shaun Huang, Toby Crampton and Finlay Bown. Finlay got the better of Shaun and Toby but it wasn’t enough to prevent James and Ben from going through to the knock-out stage.
In group 3, Ray O’Brien got has own back on Arthur Greenwood winning a cracking match 8-11, 11-9, 17-15. Ray also had wins against Tom Osborne, Seth Turner and Dan Tapley to top the group. Arthur was too strong for Tom, Seth and Dan and finished group runner-up to join Ray in the quarters.
Tom Hadley was the standout performer and unbeaten to top group 4.
The match between Lando Story and Oscar Milward couldn’t have been closer. Oscar came out on top by the narrowest of margins 11-13, 12-10, 13-11 to pip Lando to the runner-up spot.
The quarter finals saw wins for Niall Walker v Oscar Milward, Tom Hadley v Stanley Flavell, Arthur Greenwood and Ben Arnold v Ray O’Brien
In the semifinals, Niall was a comfortable 3-0 winner over Arthur and Tom beat Ben by the same margin.
The final between Niall and Tom served up an excellent match which went all the way.
Niall took the first game 11-2, Tom won the next 13-11, Niall won the next 11-3, Tom made it 2-2 by winning the fourth game 13-11 and Niall took the final game 11-9 to pick up the winner’s trophy.
BOYS U15 SINGLES
As in the U13’s, there were 20 entries for the U15’s.
In group 1, top seed Will Richards progressed to the quarter finals with wins against Rowan Rand and the inexperienced Tom Osborne and George Belfrage. Rowan also beat Tom and George to join Will in the quarters.
Harlen Howells made a good start in group 2 with a win against Ivan Edwards but came unstuck against the more experienced Ethan Stacey and David Wong. Thomas Hubbard had wins against Ivan and Harlen but also lost to Ethan and David. David and Ethan went through to the quarter finals with David topping the group after beating Ethan.
Benji Day-Lewis and Tom Hadley were the favourites to go through to the knockout stage from group 3 and they achieved that comfortably. Maxi Bastable had wins against Oscar Wood and Dylan Cranshaw to finish in third place.
Niall Walker was unbeaten in group 4 with wins against Oscar Hall, Stanley Flavell, Freddie Harrison & Raife Gaskell all of which were playing in their first tournament.
Raife won a closely fought match against Oscar 10-12, 11-4, 13-11, however, the fight for runners-up spot rested on the match between Freddie and Stanley. Stanley won the first game 11-9, but Freddie came back to win the next two 11-2, 11-5 to progress.
The quarter finals saw predictable wins for Will v Freddie, Niall v Rowan and Benj v Ethan. The match between Tom Hadley and David Wong was a much closer affair with Tom winning 11-7, 13-11.
In the first semifinal, Will had a comfortable 3-0 win against Tom.
The second semifinal was a very close and highly entertaining match which went to a deciding game. Niall took the first two games, Benji came back to make it 2-2 and Niall edged the final game 11-9
The final was full of quality play but wasn’t quite such a spectacle as title favourite Will beat Niall 3-0 to take back the trophy he won in 2023.
BOYS U18 SINGLES
Will Richards lived up to his top billing going unbeaten to top the group 1 table.
David Wong beat Ethan Stacey but lost to Will and Albert Stringer which left Albert in second spot and a place in the semi’s.
Tom Hubbard was up against three experienced league players in group 2, Fred Zanker, Benji Day-Lewis and Rowan Rand and not surprisingly came away empty handed but hopefully benefitted from the experience.
Fred and Benji were winners against Rowan and Fred beat Benji in a close match to pip him to top spot.
In the semifinals, Will was too strong for Benji winning 3-0. Albert took a game from Fred and threatened an upset but Fred eventually came through 3-1
Will and Fred served up some quality play in the final. Fred competed well in the first two games and had a great chance to win the second game, but Will sneaked it and went on to take the third game for a 3-0 win and claim the trophy (which Fred won last year)
U18 DOUBLES
In group 1, the inexperienced duo of Oscar Hall & Maxi Bastable found it tough going losing out to the other three pairs. Ray O’Brien & Stanley Flavell put up a good fight against Tom Hadley & David going down 7-11, 7-11.
Top seeds Will Richards & Fred Zanker made light work of their matches to win the group and progress to the final
Group 2 followed a very similar patter to group 1.
Tom Hubbard & Tom Osborne were the least experienced pairing entering their first ever tournament and were unsurprisingly not able to claim any scalps. Albert Stringer & Rowan Rand beat Ethan Stacey & Arthur Greenwood but were unable to prevent the top seeds Niall Walker & Benji Day-Lewis from winning the group.
The final between Will & Fred and Niall & Benji promised to be a close and exciting match but proved to be rather one sided with Will & Fred winning comfortably 3-0
—————————————————————————————————————————————–
Thanks go to Dave Adamson, Nigel Meredith, David Edwards, umpires, helpers, competitors and parents for making this an enjoyable and successful tournament.
—————————————————————————————————————————————–
Awards
U11 Winner: Arthur Greenwood
U11 Runner-up: Ray O’Brien
Boys U13 Winner: Niall Walker
Boys U13 Runner-up: Tom Hadley
Boys U15 Winner: Will Richards
Boys U15 Runner-up: Niall Walker
Boys U18 Winner: Will Richards
Boys U18 Runner-up: Fred Zanker
Junior Doubles Winners: Will Richards/Fred Zanker
Junior Doubles Runners-up: Niall Walker & Benji Day-Lewis
For information on all table tennis activities in the Stroud District, please contact Jim Hurford (Dev Officer) at jim_hurford@outlook.co.uk or 07768 527743
