Action-packed championship as table tennis players go into battle
Twenty-four competitors took part in over 60 matches in this year’s action-packed open table tennis championship on Sunday.
The event included five separate competitions – open singles, women’s singles, open doubles, mixed doubles and plate singles.
This year there was a strong contingent of juniors and adults from the Ness (thanks to Joan Smith’s coaching efforts), with many up-and-coming youngsters attending their first major competition.
The open singles final was a strongly-contested match between Scottish junior champion Lynda Flaws and Craig Christie, who gave an outstanding display of attacking table tennis. Craig won through in the end by three games to one.
Lynda also had an exciting match in the quarter-finals, only narrowly beating Dougie Hutcheon in the fifth end.
The plate singles provided an opportunity for some of the juniors to progress further but age and experience prevailed and Jason Beeston was the eventual winner.
Entries in the women’s singles was down this year due to the unavailability of several players. Nonetheless it produced a great final match between Lynda Flaws and Joan Smith, who had not played seriously for some time but did not make it easy for Lynda.
The open and mixed doubles provided an opportunity from some of the juniors to shine as they were paired up with more experienced seniors. It also meant some first-timers reached the semi-finals and finals as there were no obvious winners.
A special mention must be made of the performance of Stuart Sinclair and James Beeston who reached the open final only to be beaten by Craig Christie and Caitlin Munro in three straight sets.
A spokesman said: “Thanks must go to all who made the event such a success. Plans will now have to be made for next season and getting a team together for the island games next year. Anyone interested in playing in the league in the autumn please contact Andrew Blackadder or Alan Bruce.”
Results – open singles: 1 Craig Christie; 2 Lynda Flaws.
Women’s singles: 1 Lynda Flaws; 2 Joan Smith.
Open doubles: 1 Craig Christie/Caitlin Munro; 2 Stuart Sinclair/James Beeston.
Mixed doubles: 1 Lynda Flaws/Stuart Smith; 2 Joan Smith/Scott Smith.
Plate singles:1 Jason Beeston; 2 Scott Smith.
For information on playing contact Andrew Blackadder on (01595) 880308 (evenings) or andrew.blackadder66@btinternet.com
