Another record entry for this year’s junior tournament, held at Stratford Park Leisure Centre, saw 44 participants competing across seven events.
New for this year was an Under-13 Doubles competition and, for the first time in many years, a Girls’ Under-15 Singles event.
Girls’ Under-15 Singles
Sophie Jordan and Nel Thomas were the only two girls to enter, so just one match was played. Sophie won 3-0 to claim the trophy.
Neither player had previously taken part in a competition and were understandably a little apprehensive, but both enjoyed the experience and will hopefully continue playing.
Under-11 Singles
The standout match in the group stage was between Toby Jelf and Pasha Karime Shirazi.
Pasha won the first two games 11-5, 11-5 before Toby fought back strongly to take the next two 11-8, 11-9. Pasha held his nerve to win the deciding game 11-9.
Alex Owen won two matches to join Pasha in the final, where Pasha claimed the title with a 3-0 victory.
Boys’ Under-13 Singles
Twenty-four boys competed in four groups of six.
Group 1
Larry Ingham won all of his matches to finish top of the group and was joined in the quarter-finals by Maurice Marklove.
Group 2
Ben Arnold went unbeaten to finish first. Lando Story and Oscar Millard both recorded good wins, but it was Oscar who finished second to progress to the quarter-finals alongside Ben.
Group 3
Last year’s Under-11 champion Arthur Greenwood was in excellent form, winning four matches, but could not overcome Jasper Smith, who remained unbeaten to top the group.
Jonty Enel won three matches to finish third, while Jasper and Arthur progressed to the quarter-finals.
Group 4
Oliver Chevalier finished second with four wins from five matches, losing only to the unbeaten Ray O’Brien, who topped the group. Both progressed to the quarter-finals.
The quarter-finals produced victories for Ben Arnold, Ray O’Brien, Jasper Smith and Larry Ingham.
In the semi-finals, Ray defeated Larry 3-0, while Ben beat Jasper by the same score.
The final between Ray and Ben was as close as expected. Ray took the opening two games 11-6, 11-9 before Ben fought back to win the third 11-8. Ben looked set to force a deciding game, but Ray edged the fourth 11-9 to be crowned Under-13 champion.
Boys’ Under-15 Singles
As with the Under-13s, there were 24 entries.
Group 1
Top seed Niall Walker went unbeaten without dropping a single game to top the group.
Oscar Hall won three matches but was edged out for second place by Ben Arnold, whose only defeat came against Niall.
Group 2
Tom Hadley enjoyed a comfortable route to the quarter-finals with five wins from five matches.
The battle for second place between Findlay Young, Larry Ingham and Oscar Millard was settled on countback, with Findlay progressing.
Group 3
As expected, Jan Keller and Ray O’Brien advanced to the quarter-finals. Jan topped the group unbeaten, while Ray’s only defeat came against Jan.
Group 4
There were several closely contested matches, including impressive wins for Ziev Gal Or and Oscar Chevalier. However, the top two places went to the unbeaten Benji Day-Lewis and Arthur Greenwood, who finished with four wins from five.
The quarter-finals saw victories for Benji over Findlay, Tom over Arthur, Niall over Ray and Jan over Ben.
Jan then produced a comfortable 3-0 semi-final win over Tom.
The second semi-final was a highly entertaining contest. Benji raced into a 2-0 lead before Niall won the third game. Benji edged the fourth 11-9 to book his place in the final.
The final featured some excellent rallies, although it was not quite the spectacle many expected, as Jan upset the seedings with an impressive 11-8, 13-11, 11-5 victory.
Boys’ Under-19 Singles
There were some outstanding matches between Stroud’s top juniors, with several contests going the full five games.
Albert Stringer and Benji Day-Lewis each won three matches to reach the semi-finals, while top seed Fred Zanker topped the group without dropping a game. Niall Walker completed the semi-final line-up.
Fred defeated Niall 3-0 in the first semi-final, while Benji beat Albert by the same score.
The eagerly anticipated final between Fred and Benji certainly lived up to expectations. Fred won the opening game 11-6 before Benji levelled with an 11-9 second-game victory. Fred regained the advantage by taking the third 11-8 and looked well placed to secure the title, but Benji responded superbly, winning the fourth game before taking the decider 11-6 to lift the trophy.
Under-13 Doubles
This new event proved a great success, attracting 13 teams split across four groups.
Group 1
Favourites Ben Arnold and Ray O’Brien recorded comfortable wins over Toby Jelf/Alex Owen and Archie Revie-Andrews/Max Barthram to reach the semi-finals.
Group 2
Arthur Greenwood and Larry Ingham topped the group with convincing victories over Jasper Childs/Seth Butler and Nathan Bailey/Edward Healy.
Group 3
Jonty Enel and Arthur Millar won both of their matches to progress to the semi-finals.
Group 4
There were several close matches in this group.
Maurice Marklove and Seb Russell won all three of their matches to finish first, while James Owen and Michael O’Hara won two matches to claim second place and also qualify for the semi-finals.
Both semi-finals proved one-sided, with Ben and Ray defeating Maurice and Seb, while Arthur and Larry overcame Jonty and Arthur, both by 3-0 scorelines.
The final had been expected to be closely contested, but Ben and Ray produced a dominant performance to become the first names engraved on the new trophy.
Under-19 Doubles
Group 1
Six teams were scheduled to compete, but as the tournament ran behind schedule, two teams withdrew, giving Niall Walker and Benji Day-Lewis a clear passage to the final.
Group 2
Another team withdrew, leaving just one group match.
Fred Zanker and Albert Stringer defeated the inexperienced pairing of Spencer Brown and Oscar Millard 3-0.
An exciting final between four of Stroud’s top juniors had been anticipated, but Benji and Niall proved too strong, winning 11-7, 11-3, 11-7.
Thanks go to Dave Adamson, Nigel Meredith, David Edwards, all of the umpires, helpers, competitors and parents for making this another enjoyable and successful tournament.
Award Winners
- Under-11 Winner: Pasha Karime Shirazi
- Under-11 Runner-up: Alex Owen
- Girls’ Under-15 Winner: Sophie Jordan
- Girls’ Under-15 Runner-up: Nel Thomas
- Boys’ Under-13 Winner: Ray O’Brien
- Boys’ Under-13 Runner-up: Ben Arnold
- Boys’ Under-15 Winner: Jan Keller
- Boys’ Under-15 Runner-up: Benji Day-Lewis
- Boys’ Under-19 Winner: Benji Day-Lewis
- Boys’ Under-19 Runner-up: Fred Zanker
- Under-13 Doubles Winners: Ray O’Brien & Ben Arnold
- Under-13 Doubles Runners-up: Arthur Greenwood & Larry Ingham
- Under-19 Doubles Winners: Niall Walker & Benji Day-Lewis
- Under-19 Doubles Runners-up: Fred Zanker & Albert Stringer
Report by Jim Hurford
SDTTL Development Officer
For information on all table tennis activities in the Stroud District, please visit the Stroud Table Tennis League Practice & Coaching Directory.
