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SeniorClosed Championships (29/10/06)	Suffolk Clubs get Clubmark(5/2/06)	Ipswich Top 12 11/9/05
National Veterans Masters(16/5/05	East Kent Grand Prix 8/1/05	Colchester Top 12(24/6/05)
Success in Colchester	Veterans at Eastern Masters(20/11/04	Success for local veteran 15/4/04
Suffolk Notes (Nov 2003)

SUFFOLK SENIOR CLOSED CHAMPIONSHIPS 29^th October 2006

(Report by Andrew Dosher)

This years Suffolk Senior closed table tennis championships were arguably the most exciting & hard fought in years, with many seeding upsets.

In the men’s singles of the eight top seeds only the winner made it past the quarter finals.

Defending champion Dave Cole was unwell & Wayne Shaw had family commitments, while second & fourth seeds Ryan & Jake Collins failed to qualify from their groups.

The main talking point was the play of new player Rohit Kumar who has only been playing in division one of the Ipswich league.

As no one knew his playing ability he was put in group two with Ryan Collins & Richard Hutchinson, he trailed Ryan 0-2 in their game but came back to win deuce in the fifth, he also took out Richard Hutchinson also in five games. This meant that who ever lost between Ryan & Richard would go out as it went last years runner up & number two seed Ryan went out losing 3-0.

In group four Gary Young played above is seeding with first time wins over Andrew Dosher & number four seed Jake Collins to leave the match between these players to determine who would join him, after a hard four set win it was Dosher that went through.

In the quarters Kumar continued his progress with a comfortable win over former champion Dosher, as Andrew Warner just missed out against Nigel Hodder 9 in the decider, Hutchinson won 3-0 against Young & Aaron Self beat fellow Bury player Tony West 3-2.

In the semi’s Hutchinson over came Hodder in four sets, while Self gave a good account of himself losing 3-1 to Kumar.

In the final Kumar was looking to become a winner from an unseeded position, where as Hutchinson was looking to avenge his earlier group loss & become champion for the fourth time.

Kumar just did enough to take the first set, but the game was set as a cat & mouse encounter with neither player totally comfortable against the other, Kumar looping & smashing against the defensive grit of Hutchinson. The next three sets were all tight as Hutchinson used all his experience in defence & attack, one particular rally saw Hutchinson at the edge of the arena chop an unbelievable shot from Kumer & then race in to play an impossible backhand winner from the tightest of angles. Hutchinson eventually won his fourth men’s singles title in seven years & after Suffolk legends John Kitchener & Stuart Palmer become the third most successful men’s singles winner in county history.

Amazingly enough in the restricted singles which excludes the highest seeded players, Kumar lost at the first hurdle to former premier player Rex Manning 3-2.

Manning made it all the way to the final where he was beaten by another new player to the league Nitan Shrivastrava.

In the woman’s singles Vicky Gray once again lifted the title for the umpteenth time in a round robin group, Sian Cook showed her improvement with a win over Suffolk number three lady Clare Emmerson to get the runners up spot.

In the handicap & under 21 singles Ryan Collins beat father Malcolm & Aaron Self respectively.

Clare Emmerson & Sian Cook beat Vicky Gray & Sonja Talbot for the womans doubles, while it was another success for Hutchinson & Bloomfield & Warner & Gray in the men’s & mixed doubles respectively.

RESULTS

Men’s Singles Quarter finals

Hodder beat Warner 5 12 -6 -6 9

Hutchinson beat Young 6 9 4

Self beat West -7 7 5 -4 6

Kumar beat Dosher 1 6 5

Semi Finals

Hutchinson beat Hodder 10 12 -7 9

Kumar beat Self 10 7 -7 5

Final

Hutchinson beat Kumar -9 9 9 9

Womens Singles

Round robin – winner Gray runner up Cook

Restricted Singles Final

Nitan Shrivastrava beat Rex Manning 6 5 4

Handicap Singles Final

Ryan Collins beat Malcolm Collins 31 – 29

Under 21 Final

Ryan Collins beat Aaron Self 3 7 -7 6

Mens Doubles Final

Hutchinson & Bloomfield beat R & J Collins -9 8 10 8

Women’s Doubles Final

Emmerson & Cook beat Gray & Talbot 8 -8 6 9

Mixed Doubles Final

Warner & Gray beat J Collins & Cook 8 5 8

TWO SUFFOLK CLUBS AWARDED CLUBMARK STATUS

Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket Table Tennis Clubs have both been awarded the prestigious Sport England Clubmark Award.

Representatives of both Clubs travelled up to Sheffield where the English Table Tennis Finals were being played. As well as seeing some exciting table tennis the Clubs were presented with their certificates by Alex Murdoch, the ETTA Chairman. These two Clubs are the first Table Tennis Clubs in Suffolk to attain Clubmark status and there is only a handful in the whole of the Eastern Region.

The Sport England Clubmark scheme has been developed to enable children and young people, their parents/carers and others with an interest in sport to recognize – across a wide range of different sports – clubs that are committed to providing a quality experience. Congratulations to both clubs and hopefully other clubs will follow.

Further details of the Clubs can be found on their websites: http://www.bsettc.co.uk/ and http://www.stowmarkettabletennis.co.uk/

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First major of the season - Table tennis feature Britannia Ipswich Top 12 on Sunday the 11th of September

The first major in the Suffolk table tennis calendar at the Britannia Dome in Ipswich on Sunday produced some breathtaking games & undoubtedly its biggest headline winner in the event’s six year history.

On the day 4^th seed Charles Fulcher wasn’t able to play which allowed 15 year old Ryan Collins a reserve the opportunity to play as the 12^th seed. This was pivotal on where the title would eventually end up.

The event is open to the 12 best players in last season’s Ipswich premier league based on averages.

The draw saw two groups of six players with all in a group playing each other & the top two based on games won & lost going through to the semi finals with the other players playing for final positions.

In group one the top two ranked players Fred Dove & Wayne Shaw won all their games, so by the time they met they were already assured qualification. Their match for top spot was a thriller with Shaw’s fantastic array of attacking shots causing mayhem for Dove who trailed 1-2 in games & by a number of points before turning the game around for victory.

The other talking point was the form of Jake Collins who had wins over Andrew Dosher Michael Wright & Carl Ashton. He also took the first leg of Dove in their game.

The second group was much tighter & finished with three players on four win & a loss which meant it went to a count back.

The group started with a major seeding upset as Ryan Collins edged home against Suffolk Men’s singles champion Lee Barnes 11-9 in the decider.

Last seasons Men’s singles runner up Nigel Hodder came from 0-2 down against Ryan to win, only for Barnes to beat him 3-1 in their match.

In the last batch of games in the group the top two seeded players clashed, Andrew Warne had to win the have a chance of qualifying having already lost two games while Barnes could not afford another loss. In a hard fought fiver setter Barnes nicked it 11-9.

In the last game between Ryan & Andrew Holmes everything depended on the outcome. Hodder had already qualified while Barnes had to hope Holmes would win to get through.

The first two games were routine for the youngster but Holmes led 9-4 in the third before Ryan reeled of seven straight points to go through as group winner, with Hodder second & Barnes just missing out.

Ryan showed no nerves in his semi against Shaw winning 3-0, while Dove & Hodder had a dog fight of a game, Dove seemed to have Hodder under control only to be pegged back by the flat hitting of his opponent who led 10-6 in the decider Dove though saved four match points to win 12-10.

The final was greatly anticipated as it pitted England ranked Dove the number one seed against the last minute replacement & 12^th seed Ryan Collins

How would the youngster play the combination bat of his opponent in a big final?

All those questions were answered as Ryan took the first set having no problems with Doves pimpled rubber, Dove took the second but in a tense nxet two sets there was nothing in bar a few points, Ryan showed his coolness to edge them both by the closest of margins using his powerful forehand to claim what has to be the biggest seeding upset in a major event in Suffolk.

Ryan beat the number one two three & four seeds on the day, two of them inside the top 150 in the country.

Scores from the dome

Final Ryan Collins beat Fred Dove 7 -4 9 10

Third & fourth Nigel Hodder beat Wayne Shaw -7 1 -7 3 8

Fifth & six Lee Barnes beat Jake Collins 5 8 10

Seventh & eighth Andrew Dosher beat Andrew Warner 8- 8 5 9

Ninth & tenth Carl Ashton beat Andrew Holmes 2 9 6

Eleventh & twelfth Vicky Gray beat Michael Wright 5 8 -9 6

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Mixed results for Ipswich players in the Colchester Top 12 Events.

(Report by Ken Lewis)

Ipswich players were amongst the competitors in two recent Colchester Top 12 events where they met with mixed success.

Colchester Open Top 12 Event.

In the Open Top 12 held at Rowhedge Table Tennis Club on 24^th.June 2005, Fred Dove, Ken Lewis, Gary Young and Andy Holmes all competed along with Colchester’s Rik James, Dave Cole, Alan Burgess, Michael Andrews, Martyn and Gregg Green, Braintree’s Ian Whiteside, and Chelmsford’s Trevor Carter.

Fred easily won his group beating both Colchester youngsters, Michael Andrews and Gregg Green, and Ken and Gary both finished second in their respective groups with Ken’s game against Rik James producing some great rallies. However, Andy Holmes, seeded 4, struggled and surprisingly failed to record a win in his group.

It didn't get any better for Andy as he then lost to an inspired Colchester’s Martyn Green in the K.O. stage. Greg Green had a titanic battle with Chelmsford’s Trevor Carter, Trevor prevailing in five sets 11-5 in the fifth, and Ipswich’s Gary Young eventually beat Braintree’s Ian Whiteside in another close match which also took the full five games to decide a winner. Ken Lewis should have beaten Colchester’s Michael Andrews having lead 2 games to 1 and 10-8 in the forth, but a lapse in concentration allowed Andrews back in and with the aid of a number of nets and edges Andrews took the final game 11-9. This effectively resulted in Andrews finishing in fifth spot with Ken in seventh despite his later surprise 3 straight demolition of Ian Whiteside, the pair being split by Gary Young in sixth. Andy Holmes left it until his last match to record a win to save him the embarrassment of finishing in last position overall.

Tightest match of the tournament was the battle for 9^th/10^th spot involving Chelmsford’s Trevor Carter and Colchester’s Martyn Green, a hugely entertaining match that Trevor won from two sets down in five 10-12, 10-12, 11-6, 11-9, 12-10.

In the first semi final, Alan Burgess came up against RTTC club mate and number 1 seed Dave Cole with Dave winning in four sets to see him to the final. The other semi was between Colchester’s Rik James the number 2 seed Ipswich veteran Fred Dove seeded 3, and it was a magnificently fought game played in the very best spirit, Rik winning in five tight sets 6-11, 12-10, 8-11, 11-4, 11-9.

The final was an all Colchester affair with Rik James the current Colchester Mens Singles Champion taking on his Colchester colleague Dave Cole, Rik triumphing in four fascinating sets 11-8, 11-5, 7-11, 11-6.

There was some excellent table tennis played in the overbearing heat which seemed to suit Colchester’s Alan Burgess who finished the night in creditable if a little surprising forth position having beaten the Ipswich duo, Andy Holmes and Gary Young on route.

Final placings : 1] Rik James, 2] David Cole, 3] Fred Dove, 4] Alan Burgess, 5] Michael Andrews, 6] Gary Young, 7] Ken Lewis, 8] Ian Whiteside, 9] Trevor Carter, 10] Martyn Green, 11] Andy Holmes, 12] Gregg Green.

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Colchester Veterans Top 12 Event.

After the massive success of the inaugural Open Top 12 event, Rowhedge Table Tennis Club was proud to be the hosts of a Veteran Top 12 event which took place on 8^th.July 2005. The standard was to the very highest level with Braintree’s Peter Hayden and Steve Kerns and Ipswich's Andy Warner and Fred Dove the four seeded players.

With Steve Edmonds unable to play at the last moment, Group A was a two man group with Number 1 seed Andy Warner beating Graham Farmer, seeded Steve Kerns cruised through Group C, Peter Hayden likewise in Group B and finally Fred Dove through Group D without a hitch.

The knockout stages began with a magnificent game as Chelmsford’s Trevor Carter came back from 2 games down to beat Colchester’s Martyn Green 8-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-6. Ken Lewis had a titanic battle with Colchester’s Alan Burgess with Ken also fighting back from two games down to win 11-9 in the fifth. Another classic followed between Braintree colleagues Graham Farmer and Steve Pennell, Farmer just shading it 11-9 in the fifth. Ipswich’s Andy Holmes found himself in the same position as in the previous senior event by being unable to win a game in his group, but once again saved himself from major embarrassment by beating Chelmsford’s Trevor Carter in the play off for 9^th/10^th spot.

The first semi final saw number 1 seed, Ipswich’s Andy Warner, play number 4 seed, Braintree’s Peter Hayden and a tremendous game unfolded between the big hitting Warner and the sublime touch of Hayden, a skill he has not lost in his sorely missed 6 year absence from the game. Andy found himself 2 games to 1 up and leading 10-3 in the forth, but an extraordinary lapse of concentration let Peter back in and incredibly Andy lost the game at deuce. Hayden eventually won a huge battle 11-7, 8-11, 8-11, 15-13, 12-10 in what was the game of the event. The other semi was another battle as number three seed, Braintree’s Steve Kerns eventually triumphed over number two seed, Ipswich’s Fred Dove 5-11, 11-7, 11-4, 4-11, 11-9.

The final saw Hayden away quickly into a two set lead 11-6, 13-11, Kerns game rose and he won the third amazingly 11-1 but it was not to be as Hayden again tightened his tactics and therefore control to win the fourth 11-7 with Kerns having to settle for the runner up spot.

This was undoubtedly a superb event played in exactly the right spirit and was a credit to table tennis, the players involved, and hosts RTTC.

Final placings : 1] Peter Hayden, 2] Steve Kerns, 3] Andy Warner, 4] Fred Dove, 5] Ken Lewis, 6] Graham Farmer, 7] Steve Pennell, 8] Alan Burgess, 9] Andy Holmes, 10] Trevor Chapman, 11] Martin Green, 12] Steve Edmonds (scratched).

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Britannia Player Wins England Veterans National Masters Plate Competition.

Unfortunately due to illness Fred Dove had to withdraw from the England Veterans National Masters which took place at Thornbury, Gloucestershire over the weekend of 14th.&15th.May 2005, leaving Ken Lewis as the only local player taking part in this the premier National veterans tournament of the season.

In the 40+ event Ken (national ranking 341) was drawn in a group which included Ramesh Bhalla (national ranking 36) and Alan Philpot (national ranking 40), and with these two top 50 players in the group, both ranked 300+ places higher than him on the national ranking list, it was likely Ken would finish third at best, and so it proved to be. However, Ken went down fighting loosing ‘three straight’ to the number 36 but with all three games going to deuce, and almost causing what would have been a huge upset by taking the number 40 to the final fifth game and having match point at 11-10, only to loose 9-11,11-9,8-11,11-7,12-14.

In the 40+ plate competition, Ken enjoyed good wins in the early rounds including ‘three straight’ wins against two players ranked much higher than himself, and then easily beating the lower ranked John Barnes to reach the quarter finals where he met Vin O’donnell from Cheshire. Although Vin is ranked 40 places higher, Ken was enjoying a reasonable run of form and took the first game comfortably. However, Vin ‘changed up a gear’ taking the second game at deuce and ran away with the third, game 6.The fourth went to Ken game 7, so it was down to the fifth and deciding game. Vin held his nerve and eventually won 11-9 to rob Ken of a place in the semi finals.

The 50+ event again saw Ken (ranked 108) drawn in a group which included two much higher ranked players, Cheshire’s Paul Collins (ranked 26) and Durham’s John Williamson (ranked 69). Consequently it was once more unlikely that Ken would finish better than in third spot, and indeed it again proved to be so. However, as in the 40+ groups, Ken continued to play very well and was a little unfortunate to be consigned to his second plate competition of the weekend, having lost only to the two much higher ranked players, and taking both to the final fifth ends.

The overall playing standard in National competitions such as this is always very high, and of the 64 competitors in the 50+ plate competition, there were a substantial number of players ranked in the top 100 of the 50+ national ranking list.

It was therefore something of a surprise when Ken being ranked outside the top 100 made it through to the quarter finals, having on route achieved a fine win against Berkshire’s Geof Civil (ranked 91), and a superb ‘three straight’ win against Surrey’s John Millward (ranked 67), 11-5, 11-7, 11-5.

The quarter final saw Ken up against Staffordshire’s Sid Hogetts (ranked 106), a player who has never lost to Ken in any of their previous meetings, but Ken wasn’t about to let history repeat itself and demolished Sid 11-2, 11-5, 11-3 to reach the semi’s.

Wale’s Earl Jeffers (ranked 96), another player whom Ken has never previously managed to beat was Ken’s semi final opponent, but an on form Ken had clearly learnt from the pair’s previous encounters and Ken won the match comfortably after suffering the early setback of losing the first game 9-11 having come back from 3-8 down. This was a very satisfying win for Ken 9-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-5, and a place in the final.

Ken’s opponent in the final was the highly experienced and seasoned campaigner, Bill Fletcher (ranked 121) from Warwickshire, who, like Ken, had also achieved some superb wins over much higher ranked opponents on route to the final.

Bill stormed into an early lead in the first game with his strong forehand attack and acutely angled backhand, but from 3-8 down Ken fought back with topspin forehand counter attacking to level the scores at 9 all. Bill then produced two superb unreachable backhand kills to take the game 11-9.

The second game started in much the same way as the first with Bill dominating the early rallies, but Ken spotted the danger of Bill running away with the match and employed a quick change of tactic, coming closer in to the table to reduce the angle Bill was able to use. This effectively proved to be the decisive factor, as from then on it was Ken who made all the running, forcing Bill onto the defensive. After edging the second game 11-8, Ken went on to also take the next two games 11-6, 11-7, to win his first ever National competition.

Full results from the England Veterans National Masters will appear on the ETTA website shortly.

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Further success for Suffolk players in Colchester.

An Ipswich team (Ian Brown, Andy Holmes, Paul Broxton, and Ken and Mark Lewis) look set to repeat last years success in the Colchester & Dist. TT League in finishing runners up in the league, and have again reached the finals of the two cup competitions.

Added to this, both Ian and Ken achieved personal success last weekend (6th.March'05) with superb performances in the Colchester league championships, Ian reaching the semi final of the men's singles before loosing to the eventual winner, Rick James, and Ken reaching the finals of both the Veterans 40+ and 50+ events. Ken's attempt to retain the 40+ title for Ipswich (won by Andy Holmes last year) was unfortunately not to be, Steve Kerns being in great form dominated Ken to take the title. In the Veterans 50+ event however, Ken succeeded in lifting the title, beating Ian Whiteside in the final, and having beaten team mate Ian Brown on route.  

The “Highs” and “Lows” of Table Tennis.

The Britannia based Ipswich team in the Colchester & District League completed the 2004/05 season with both “Highs” and “Lows” being all to apparent.

Despite winning their last league match 8-2, this proved to be insufficient for them to repeat last seasons performance of finishing in runners up spot. Other results meant that they finished third, a “Low” but creditable position given that Ian Brown was unavailable due to injury ‘till well into the season and Andy Holmes also being unavailable for several of the matches.

The Handicap Cup final (21.03.05) provided “Highs” with the Ipswich team winning comfortably despite the Rowhedge opposition’s late strengthening of their team by the replacing two of the youngsters with top player David Cole and the experienced John Stubbings. Ian Brown and Ken Lewis got Ipswich off to a great start winning the first doubles, and Andy Holmes followed up by enjoying a superb win over Cole. This was followed by a fine win by Ken Lewis over Stubbings, and the Rowhedge team were unable to recovered, Ipswich taking the Cup with a resounding 5-1 win overall.

The Ipswich team still had the opportunity of completing a “double” having also reached the final of the prestigious Kiltie Cup (24.03.05). The final produced some superb table tennis enjoyed by a large crowd of mostly opposition supporters, but the “Highs” of Ipswich earlier in the week were unfortunately replaced by “Lows”. Ken Lewis was a little unlucky to lose both his singles, both in five, and both at duce, 12-14 against Gary Cattermole, and 14-16 against John Andrews. A definite “Low” with Ken having lost to Andrews for the first time in several seasons, and having had all but two of the match points in both. However, there was also a “High” with Ian Brown winning both his singles keeping the match alive late into the night and into the final ninth game, a doubles with Ken being partnered by son Mark. Mark continued to play as well as be had done earlier in the match when partnering Ian, but with the usually reliable Ken appearing to be looking to replace his ‘plonker’ reputation by playing in a more ‘attacking’ style, the pair unnecessarily struggled, and the game went to the final end – the sixth final end of the nine games played. The worst “Low” was to follow as Ken being unable to stop his attacking instinct resulted in the final game being lost, and with it the match. The inevitable “High” and “Lows” of table tennis can make it a frustrating game – elation if you win, and disappointment if you lose, but noone could be more disappointed than Ian who had remained unbeaten on the night yet finished on the losing team !!

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Significant Suffolk representation in East Kent Grand Prix( Report by Ken Lewis)

In the East Kent Grand Prix @ Canterbury on 8^th/9^th.January 2005, Fred Dove, Ken and Mark Lewis, Garry Young, Jake and Ryan Collins all competed, and with all qualifying through the group stages, Suffolk had a significant representation going into the knock out stages of the competition. Particularly of note was the superb group win Mark achieved a over his band’s number 1 seed, and the youngsters Jake and Ryan showing that they are improving rapidly and are already capable of beating some of the top ranked young players in the country.

Further success followed in the knock out stages, and although none were able to stake claims on the winners list, Gary reached the simi final of his band, and Ken, despite struggling with reoccurrence of a back injury, reached the quarter finals of two bands.

All should be pleased overall with their performances at this high level of competition having achieved wins over highly ranked national opposition. Fred continues to surprise some of the highest ranked players in the country, as does Ken whose game is developing and maturing with age. Gary’s game is also improving, and Mark on this form is clearly capable of playing higher than Div.2 at local league level. Jake and Ryan’s dedication and hard work is paying off – I&DTTL players watch out !!

Local players off form at the Capital.

The London Grand Prix which took place @ Crystal Palace on 29^th.&30^th.January 2005 included ‘locals’ Fred Dove, Gary Young and Ken and Mark Lewis.

Unfortunately the above players recent ‘climb’ on the National ranking lists following success earlier in January at Canterbury suffered a set back. Although Gary and Ken each qualified through both their respective groups with Ken recording a straight 3 games win over the eventual overall winner of the band, Fred qualified for one band only as did Mark, which for Mark was the first time in such competitions failing to qualify through both his group bands.

Further disappointment followed for all four of the Suffolk contingent with no-one progressing beyond the first round of the knock out stages.

There are no ‘easy’ games in table tennis at this level, and none of the Suffolk players performed as well as they have proved they are capable of playing. However, they were certainly not helped by the playing conditions which, surprisingly, at this National event were less than favourable to say the least with generally poor lighting, extremely hot dry atmosphere, and some of the tables being on a balcony where the lighting was absolutely diabolical and the floor very slippery. Added to this was the continually high level of general noise resulting from the open plan location – a swimming gala in the Olympic pool was also taking place immediately adjacent to the playing area !! The player’s representative will be taking this up with the Grand Prix committee, having himself being concerned and inundated with complaints from a considerable number of players.

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“Awesome performance against former World champ".

Veterans Eastern Masters - Norwich 20/21 November 2004.

Three Suffolk ranked players, Fred Dove, Ken Lewis and Ian Brown competed in this National competition.

In the 40+ groups, both Fred and Ian were runners up, Ken finishing fourth in a very tough group which included two players ranked in the top twenty and a 'pen hold' Japanese player using a cork blade and 'anti' rubber !!

In the ko stage, Ian, returning from injury, was struggling with his form, but Fred progressed to the quarter finals before succumbing to the England number 5, Nigel Eckersley. Ken faired better in the plate competition, and for the third such competition in succession reached the semi finals, before being narrowly defeated by the England number 94 (312 places higher than Ken), Dave 'points' Crowley, game 7 in the 5th.

In the 50+ groups, the Suffolk trio all progressed as runners up in their respective groups, Ken being a little unlucky to loose to the England number 33, Nat Richardson, 14-16 in the fifth.

Unfortunately Ian, returning after his recent long injury enforced absence owing to a torn Achilles tendon, continued to be below par and was unable to progress beyond the first round of the ko stage. However, both Fred and Ken secured good wins in the early rounds, both reaching the last 16. Fred then enjoyed a great win against England number 6 Dave Welshman, coming back from a two game deficit, which set up the possibility of a last 8 clash between the Suffolk pair. Ken gave his all against the England number 13, Roy Norton, in a long and intriguing encounter during which Ken produced some of the best table tennis he has ever played, and w