Young table tennis stars representing Wigan Athletic reversed their football club’s loss to Arsenal this afternoon by narrowly clinching the title of Fred Perry Table Tennis Urban Cup 2011 Champions, with the Gunners finishing a close second in the event at London’s Business Design Centre today.
Wigan’s two boys and two girls – Annabelle Rowlands, Hannah Burrow, Ross Byron and Michael O’Donnell – finished the day with 24 points to Arsenal’s 22 points, with Hull City in third on 20 points.
In the boys division, Arsenal were victorious over runners-up Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers. Portsmouth were triumphant in the girls division over second-placed Manchester City, with Norwich City’s young stars in third.
The Fred Perry Urban Cup, an initiative partnered by the Premier League, Fred Perry and the English Table Tennis Association (ETTA), gives 120,000 kids aged 11-14 across urban areas of the country the chance to try out table tennis for the first time this year. Today’s Urban Cup Finals in London saw the top 100 kids representing every Premier League club battle it out for the 2011 title.
Darius Knight, GB table tennis star and Fred Perry Urban Cup ambassador, was on hand to support the finalists and inspire the next generation of table tennis stars.
Darius said: “There was some great table tennis talent at today’s Fred Perry Urban Cup Finals. I definitely spotted some stars of the future and it is through initiatives like this we will see more and more youngsters taking up the sport. Congratulations to everyone taking part in today’s finals and well done to the tournament’s winner Wigan Athletic.”
Richard Martin, Director of Marketing at Fred Perry, said: “This year’s Urban Cup was bigger and better than ever and Fred Perry is extremely proud to have partnered with the Premier League and ETTA to give so many kids the opportunity to play table tennis. Congratulations go to overall winners Wigan Athletic on a very impressive team performance today. Fred Perry himself was a table tennis world champion in 1929 so we are really excited to see the popularity of the sport continuing to grow and look forward to the next edition of the Urban Cup.”
For full final tables click here