A busy day one at the Doncaster Dome Leisure Centre came to a close with the Men’s Band 1 final finishing, as it always does, last. The sixth edition on this season’s circuit produced some great table tennis and an in depth report into all of todays banded competitions can be read below.
The penultimate Grand Prix will be taking place in Blackpool on Saturday 7th & Sunday 8th May, and the closing date has been extended to Wednesday 20th April. Entries have also just opened for the season finale in London, with the Jean Brown Arena being used to host the event.
Click here to enter the Blackpool Grand Prix.
Click here to enter the London Grand Prix.
Men’s Band 1
Kim Daybell played superbly to take home the big Men’s title of the day. He looked sharp as he dispatched Sean Doherty 3-0 in the Men’s Band 1 final.
Daybell reached the final after strong performances against John Taylor (3-1), Callum Evans (3-2) and another Scot Kenny Lindsay (3-1).
Number one seed Doherty first beat Richard Carden 3-0, before seeing off fellow Scot Niall Cameron 3-1. He then had to battle his way past the Danish defender Jannik Larsen, finally coming through in five ends.
Women’s Band 1
Rachel Baker twice defeated Gillian Edwards to claim the title of Women’s Band 1 champion. In the final it was a more straight forward, but still close match, which Baker won 12-10, 11-5, 19-17.
In the groups it was a gruelling 3-2 victory for Baker, who earned the right to play Isobel Ashley in the semi-finals. Another five set win for Baker was recorded.
Edwards faced Norfolk youngster Mollie Patterson in her semi-final, and rallied back from 1-0 down to take the match 3-1. Patterson, ranked number four in her group, can take a lot of pride in topping the charts and reaching the semi-final stage.
Men’s Band 2
London 2012 Paralympic silver medallist Ross Wilson won the Men’s Band 2 event after an epic final match against Alec Ward. It was sweet revenge for Wilson, as Ward had won 3-0 when they met earlier on in the groups.
It looked as though Ward might be about to repeat his earlier victory, but at two nil down, Wilson won a match changing third end 17-15. This mammoth end appeared to take its toll on Ward, as Wilson soon wrapped it up with 11-5 and 11-4 games.
Wilson’s impressive run to the final included wins over Aaron McKibbin, Matthew Leete and Ryan Fellows. Ward went through the rounds reasonably comfortably, seeing off Michael Fraser, Ethan Walsh and James Garrod.
Women’s Band 2
Isobel Ashley was crowned champion of the Women’s Band 2 singles, beating Lancashire’s Bethany Farnworth 3-0 in the final.
The Women’s Band 2 event didn’t go according to plan as number two seed Isobel Ashely finished runner-up in group 2, but then beat group 1 winner Rachel Baker 12-10, 2-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-7 in the semi-final.
It was very much the same in the bottom half of the draw, as group 1 runner-up Bethany Farnworth beat group 2 winner Zoe Cheesman 11-9, 11-9, 8-11, 11-5 in their respective semi-final match.
Men’s Band 3
Joe Clark left the Doncaster Dome a very happy man, as he claimed the Men’s Band 3 title with a fine performance against Dylan Curry of Scotland.
Perhaps more impressive was Clark’s semi-final victory over number one seed Shayan Siraj, which he won 12-10, 11-9, 11-4. His quarter-final match wasn’t much easier, but a good win against Amirul Hussain set him on his way.
Curry, winner of group 3, beat Billy Shilton, James Rule and Antony Constantinou on his way to becoming runner-up.
Women’s Band 3
Number two seed Annie Hudson upset number one seed Rachel Pilgrim by winning the Women’s Band 3 title in three straight games.
Both women topped their respective groups, and both women won their semi-finals 3-1. Hudson beat Grantham College student Emma McSorley 12-10, 4-11, 11-9, 14-12, and Pilgrim beat Northamptonshire’s Bhavika Mistry 9-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-4.
Men’s Band 4
Richard Element was the winner of the Men’s Band 4 title in Doncaster, thanks to a hard fought 3-2 win against Billy Shilton. Shilton twice lead thanks to two 11-4 games, but each time Element pegged him back before taking it 11-7 in the decider.
Element, seeded four, made the final after wins against Steven Gray (3-1), Antony Constantinou (3-0) and Ethan Chapman (3-0)
It could have been a different story for GB para player Shilton though, he had to dig deep to get through the early rounds. He twice won in five, against David Randerson and Ryan Lunn, and once in four, against Reece Lo.
Women’s Band 4
A 100% record in the Women’s Band 4 event secured the title for Holly Williams. Williams beat number one seed Grace Potter in the final 11-8, 11-4, 11-7.
After a fine three out of three in the group stages, Williams beat Beth Richards of Wales in the semi-finals, 3-0.
Potter came through her five person group with four wins from four, but almost slipped up against Medha Verma, recovering from a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2. Federica Bonato Tazartes was the semi-final victim in this half of the draw, after finishing runner-up in group 2.
Men’s Band 5
Surprise package Jack Higgs won the Men’s Band 5 event after a close contest in the final with Surrey’s Matthew Gold. Higgs eventually ran out 11-9, 9-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7 winner.
Higgs beat Lewis Palmer in the semi-final 3-0, making up for his brother Joe’s quarter-final exit to Palmer. One round earlier Jack Higgs had beaten Yao Li, and before that Alex Shaw.
Gold’s route to the final was courtesy of a five set win over Joe Walker, followed by a four set win over Mike Bailey, before another five set win in his semi-final versus Zoltan Kulics.
Men’s Band 6
The Men’s Band 6 final was a battle between Yorkshire and South Yorkshire, with the latter being crowned champion, as Luke Tattersall saw off Matthew Shaw in three straight games.
Both players made it through to the final with relative ease. Tattersall beat Minesh Pitamber and David Ramsey in three before a 3-1 semi-final victory over Joe Higgs.
It was a similar story for Shaw, who only dropped the one set in his Band 6 campaign, coming from one game down to win 3-1 against Ben Knight in his semi. Shaw had earlier recorded victories against Yao Li and Jack Higgs.
Results
Men’s Band 1
Kim Daybell (Ys) bt Sean Doherty (SCO) 3-0 (11-8, 12-10, 11-8)
Women’s Band 1
Rachel Baker (Ch) bt Gillian Edwards (SCO) 3-0 (12-10, 11-5, 19-17)
Men’s Band 2
Ross Wilson (K) bt Alec Ward (Cv) 3-2 (5-11, 7-11, 17-15, 11-5, 11-4)
Women’s Band 2
Isobel Ashley (Dy) bt Beth Farnworth (La) 3-0 (11-7, 11-9, 11-9)
Men’s Band 3
Joe Clark (Cv) bt Dylan Curry (SCO) 3-0 (11-7, 14-12, 11-5)
Women’s Band 3
Annie Hudson (Ch) bt Rachel Pilgrim (Wa) 3-0 (12-10, 11-7, 11-4)
Men’s Band 4
Richard Element (Ys) bt Billy Shilton (Gs) 3-2 (4-11, 11-9, 4-11, 14-12, 11-7)
Women’s Band 4
Holly Williams (Cv) bt Grace Potter (Li) 3-0 (11-8, 11-4, 11-7)
Men’s Band 5
Jack Higgs (Wo) bt Matthew Gold (Sy) 3-2 (11-9, 9-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7)
Men’s Band 6
Luke Tattersall (Ys) bt Matthew Shaw (Y) 3-0 (11-9, 11-9, 11-4)