Lin Attridge inspires Elmtree Excalibur C fightback
Liberal looked to be heading towards a runaway victory in division two of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League as they led Elmtree Excalibur C by an impressive 6-1 margin. However, in what was a complete reversal of fortune it was Elmtree who won the last three games. Lin Attridge did very well to beat Robin Armstrong 11-8, 6-11, 11-9, 11-9 and Ian Rattray who had lost to both Armstrong and Barry Pritchard scored a fine 11-9, 11-7, 8-11, 11-9 win over the hitherto unbeaten Steve Pennell. The reliable Richard Hiskey ensured that Elmtree only succumbed 4-6 by beating Barry Pritchard 12-10, 11-5, 11-3 in the last game.
An undefeated Hatfield Peverel B are the surprise package in division two and they hold a slightly surprising 10 point lead over their rivals after beating ECC C 8-2. They have scored a superb 42 points out of 50 to date – good going at any level. Andrew Halling led the way with a hat-trick and Chris Buer and Steve Buer both won twice. Steve Buer got the better of Colin Blore 11-7, 6-11, 8-11, 11-7, 16-14 in the closest game of the night.
Danbury B lead the way in division three and Neil Want and Tim Pulham were both undefeated as they beat OCs D 8-2. Want rounded up another good evening for his side with a hard-fought 9-11, 16-14, 3-11, 11-9, 11-8 win over Dave Porter in the last game of the evening.
Results went pretty much to form in division four this week. Danbury G – Dave Goody, Brian Ellis and Dave Powell all won twice in their 6-4 win over Elmtree Excalibur E whilst Hatfield Peverel D beat Danbury H 7-3. Gareth Davies and Keith Cullen both scored hat-tricks for the Hatfield Peverel side. Elsewhere, Chelmsford E beat EPHQ 7-3 with Bob Francis, Paul Nicol and Adam Pitt all picking up two wins although they all missed out against EPHQ’s inform Ian Hockley.
In division five Highwood notched up an 8-2 win over Elmtree Excalibur F. Martin Goddard and Ann Lockhart both picked up three wins. OCs H had Daniel Berry to thank as they beat their G side 7-3. Berry beat all three OCs G players – Fred Mastin, George Mastin and Josh Watts whilst Shane Bliss defeated Josh Watts 6-11, 11-6, 10-12, 11-9, 11-8 in the closest game of the evening.
This year’s M&G Investments Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League Closed Table Tennis Championships take place from Friday 10 to Sunday 12 February 2012 at Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford. Entry forms are in the League Handbook and should be returned to the Tournament Organiser – Arthur Clark (either directly or by Club Secretaries) by Monday 05 December 2011.
All players are also reminded that the ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals are taking place at the London ExCel Centre from Thursday 24 November 2011 to Sunday 27 November 2011 and many of the best players in the World will be taking part in what is a “test event” for next year’s Olympic Games.
The current five leading players on the Men’s Pro Tour circuit are all Chinese, and include arguably the four biggest names in the Sport at present – world no. one Ma Long, current World Singles Champion Zhang Jike, the 2008 Olympic Men’s Singles Champion Ma Lin and 2004 and 2008 Olympic Men’s Singles runner-up Wang Hao.
The Women’s Singles standings are also dominated by Chinese players with current World Champion Ding Ning (China) in pole position followed by Guo Yan (China), Feng Tianwei (Singapore), Liu Shiwen (China) and Li Xiaxiao (China).
This is a marvelous opportunity to see a real show-case event in London and tickets can be obtained from the following website: