Eli Baraty did it the hard way in winning the latest World Championship of Ping Pong qualifier at Batts in Harlow.

The Israeli trailled Kazeem Adeleke of Nigeria 2-0 in the final but rallied to clinch a dramatic victory 3-2 (8-15, 11-15, 15-10, 15-13, 15-13).

It was not the only time Baraty had to dig deep during the course of the tournament. He was pushed close by Carl Breindel in the group stage, winning 2-1 (15-14, 14-15, 15-11). He also had to come from behind to beat Algy Batten and was taken to three by Nick Brown.

Baraty also had trouble in the double elimination round, where, after beating Jimmy Walsh 2-0 (15-13, 15-10), he suffered a 2-1 reverse (7-15, 15-14, 13-15) at the hands of Luke Walsh. It meant he had to beat Derek Balding to advance, which he did 2-0 (15-3, 15-9).

Adeleke was untroubled in comparison, conceding only one set in his group, when he came from behind to beat Richard Hutchinson 2-1 (12-15, 15-10, 15-8), and he won two out of two in the double elimination round to book his place in the quarter-finals.

Both finalists went through the quarters and semis with relative ease, Adeleke beating Fred Dove and Joe Kennedy, while Baraty saw off Hutchinson and Paul Worrallo, with neither dropping a set.

Click here for full results from Batts

Click here for the latest standings

The remaining qualifier are as follows:

Sunday December 7 – Britannia, Ipswich (satellite event)
Saturday December 20 – Batts, Harlow (main event)
Saturday December 27 – Jack Hunt School, Peterborough (main event)
Thursday January 22 – Batts, Harlow (last chance saloon)

Paul Stimpson
November 19, 2014