Flaws triumphs at table tennis open in Denmark

Table tennis player Lynda Flaws won the Ladies Class Two Singles of the Aarhus Open in Denmark last week, reached another two finals and picked up 650 Danish krone into the bargain.

Her first event on the Saturday was the under-18 Elite Singles and Lynda, 16, got off to a great start with a comfortable 3-0 victory which took her into the semi-finals. The next match was against much tougher opposition and she lost 3-0.

Next up was the Ladies Class Two Singles and in the group stages Lynda’s first opponent pulled out of the competition so she was awarded a nominal 3-0 victory. She continued in good form in her next match with another 3-0 win.

In her final group match Lynda was 2-0 up before her opponent fought back to make it 2-2. However, she held her nerve to take the fifth set 11-7 to win the match 3-2, and progress to the quarter-finals. There she carried on her good form, winning 3-0 again.

Next up for Lynda was a semi-final encounter against Rakul Mikkjalsdottir, a fellow island games competitor from Faroe. Rakul took the first set 11-8, but Lynda fought back to take the next three sets 11-6, 11-8, 11-9, to take her through to the final.

Lynda got off to a slow start and went 7-1 down in the first set. She fought back to make it 7-7, but went on to lose the next 4 points, losing the first set 11-7. In similar fashion to her earlier semi-final, she came back strongly to take the next three sets 11-8, 11-8, 11-9, to win the event.

First up for Lynda on the Sunday morning was the Under-21 Elite Singles. She won her first match 11-6, 11-7, 11-7, to take her through to the semi-finals. Lynda once again found herself 2-0 down but the turning point came when she was 10-9 up in the third set, where she won a crucial game point after a long rally. She continued her fighting spirit to win the next two sets 11-6 and 11-8 to take her through to her second final.

In the final Lynda faced a Danish national player and she lost 3-0, but still won 250 krone for reaching the final.

Lynda’s final event was the Ladies Class One Singles. She won her first three matches 3-0, 3-1 and 3-2 to qualify to the semi finals as the group winner. There she faced Henrietta Nielsen who she had beaten 3-0 the day before. Lynda once again found herself 1-0 down, but dug deep to win the next three sets 11-5, 11-6, 11-9 to make it to her third final of the weekend.

Unfortunately Lynda could not take her second title of the weekend, losing 9-11, 13-15, 7-11, but she still won another 100 krone for reaching the final.

After a weekend of tough competition, Lynda participated in a six-day intense training camp, which she said she enjoyed and gained a lot from.