England’s Geof wins World Championship

Geof Bax from Watford was crowned World champion last week in the Veterans’ Championships in Stockholm. Geof, who plays for Hertfordshire and the Jets club in the Watford League, overcame opponents from Finland, Sweden, Czech Republic, Russia and Germany to win the Men’s Over-80s title in his first appearance in this category.

Geof’s forehand attack combined with a solid anti-loop backhand took him to the final, where he endured a tense match against Germany’s Rolf Groß. Geof won the first game of the five-set final 12-10, but lost the next two 9-11, 8-11. He fought back to win the fourth game 11-7 but in the decider both men went ahead, with Geof eventually securing an 11-8 win.

Geof said: “After years of participating in World and European tournaments it was an incredible feeling to win the final, especially after such a hard-fought match. This is my greatest achievement after over 60 years in the game and I hope that this win will inspire others to play, and keep playing the game”. The gold medal was presented by former world senior doubles champion Diane Schöler, a former World Senior champion herself.

There was further success for England as Geof’s wife Sally won a bronze medal in the Ladies’ Over-70s doubles. Partnering Carol Judson from Leeds. They fought their way to the semi-finals only to lose to the eventual winners from Japan.

Geof and Sally’s events were just two of a vast number of events in the Championships where there were over 3,000 entrants from more than 60 countries across age-banded events for men and women over 40.