Medal haul for NTU at European Champs
Nottingham Trent University’s table tennis team brought home three medals from the European University Table Tennis Championships held in Zonguldak, Turkey.
They secured one silver and two bronze medals after a successful campaign in Europe.
The Nottingham Trent University Men’s and Women’s teams were selected to represent Great Britain after winning the British Universities and Colleges Sports (BUCS) Table Tennis Championships.
Although there was no BUCS funding available, the squad were helped by their university and their own scholarship awards to sustain their week-long challenge against universities from across Europe. With three medals returning to Nottinghamshire in tow, the journey was a worthwhile experience.
England International Chris Doran led the way by reaching the final of the Men’s Singles event, only to lose out to Tomasz Levandowski (Rzeszow University, POL).
That silver medal followed the bronze that Doran and partner Emran Hussain had achieved in the Men’s Doubles.
Not to be outdone, the NTU Women’s Team won their own bronze medal after finishing tied for third in the Team event. Emma Vickers, Alice Loveridge and Caroline Hallows finished second in their group but beat French side Poitiers to secure their own slice of the glory.
Loveridge and Vickers were unlucky not to ‘double-up’ their success when their campaign in the Women’s Doubles ended in the quarter-finals – one round short of securing another medal.
Alex Bailey, elite sports development officer at Nottingham Trent University, said: “The standard of table tennis played at the European championships was extremely high. We didn’t know what to expect before the competition, with many world ranked players from universities in Russia and Poland involved.
“It’s a fantastic result for the team to come back with three medals. This clearly shows that Nottingham Trent University can compete with some of the best universities in Europe.”
The full list of medalists can be found here
Kelly Dove & Mike Payne