Sussex County closed: Junior Event Sunday 7 MARCH 2010

This event took place at Pavilion table tennis club, right on our doorstep. Due to this fact we encouraged lots of the kids to enter and see what they can do against the elite of Sussex!

Some had taken part in the NJL ( National Junior League)  the day before and perhaps were tired but they all gave a thrilling performance.

 A special mention should go to Mark Scutts, who got to the Final of the Junior Boy’s event and lost to the Winner  Dash (who had taken Craig Bryant, the winner of the Senior Men to 5 games!).

 Khem gave a thrilling performance in the cadet event, showing the potential of his tactical thinking as well as his desire to win.

 Hai Dwong should get a mention as he won 2 plate events. The under 11 boys consolation event and the under 13 boys consolation. This was his first appearance and he impressed the audience with his range of shots and services. A little bit more work on his concentration and he will be a star to watch.

Onwards the training and coaching sessions and maybe next year we can lift one of those trophies

HTTC Journalist

This was the final match for both teams which took place on 6 MARCH 2010 at Fareham ( Neville Lovett school) but there were a couple of surprises.

This was the first appearance and début of Harry Carter, one of the students from Ovingdean School.

Despite people signing up at the beginning to say they were available for all the matches, events as always intervened. Whether it was a sleep-over or a chess tournament (some of those kids are very bright).

In Team B( div 3), we had Viral Virsani, Hai Dwong and new player Harry Carter ( who has only been playing since October, after seeing his friend  James Meyers.. getting far as participating in the Deaflympics team). There were only 2 matches taking place. The first match the team lost 3-6, each winning only 1 game each. They woke up for the second match, winning it 9-0. It was a big progress for Hai to finally start winning games, knowing that with a bit of concentration and focus his talent will eventually shine through.

In Team A (div 2), we had Emma Sheen (who has played in all the matches .. well done for answering the call of duty), Benedict Watters & Khem Rogaly. They all faced challenging games, facing players who have played for far longer and train at least 3 days a week. Khem & Emma both won a game, which lifted them immensely and certainly gave Khem confidence about what he can do. Benedict put in a brave performance, but his competitive instinct will improve.

Hollingbury Table Tennis club (HTTC) would like to thank all those who took part (Elliott Jeffery, Emma Sheen, Jack Taylor, Khem Rogaly, Benedict Watters, Bart Rayson, Viral Virsani, Hai Dwong, Jack Thomsett & Harry Carter).

Also a special thanks to all those Parents who chauffeured other players and Coaches back and forth between Brighton and Fareham at the drop of a hat and last minute phone calls.

 I think we can be pleased with the progress of the juniors, considering this is their first year in the national junior league and the fact that some of them have been playing for under a year!

 We can begin planning for next year’s team (NOV 2010) and I believe we may see the emergence of new stars for the 3^rd division ( George Taylor).

I and Prakash would like to thank Wes and Christine for trusting us to organise this without causing any distress (hopefully).

 ADE AKINBOYEWA & PRAKASH VARSANI

Hollingbury Table Tennis Coaches

At the Brighton Junior Table Tennis League finals night, Leo Assisi (Brighton City) won an impressive final against James Meyers to take the match and the overall title at the Brighton Youth Centre. The final was a closely fought three set thriller, with James fighting hard against Leo’s spin and touch play. The staged final had great rallies, drama and was played in a good spirit, which topped off another successful Grand Prix style season of junior Table Tennis. With over 40 youngsters taking part in the competition over 5 events throughout the season, there has been some great competition from the sport’s stars of the future.