Sophie Chiang claimed her second title of the weekend and Jamie Liu retained his Under-12 title as the U10-U13 National Championships came to an end in Preston.
There were also first national titles for Connor Green and Lucy Gent in the Under-10 events.
Under-12 Boys’ Singles
That’ll do for @JamieliuTT . He is the 2016 U12 National Champion!! pic.twitter.com/JdGTetoFlH
— Table Tennis England (@TableTennisENG) June 26, 2016
Jamie Liu won a high-tempo match against second seed Louis Price to retain his under-12 title.
Having lost the Under-13 final yesterday, Liu was in no mood for a repeat and started at a gallop, winning the first game to love.
Price got on the board by winning the first three points of the second and he opened a 7-2 lead before Liu got back into his stride, levelling it at 8-8. Both players had a chance to take the game, but it was Price who did so 13-11.
Despite that, Liu had the momentum and quickly opened up a lead in the third, going on to take it 11-4.
Liu continued in that vein, moving 4-0 up in the fourth, but Price fought all the way, coming back to 7-7 and then saving one match point at 7-10 down, before Liu sealed it to retain his title.
Price had not dropped a game in the knockout stages, culminating in a 3-0 (12-10, 11-6, 11-9) victory over Mahmood Kelani, the sixth seed, who had beaten fourth-ranked Thomas Rayner in the quarters.
Liu dropped a game in the semis, to third seed Rhys Davies, but he came back to win it 3-1 (11-5, 7-11, 11-9, 11-6).
Most of the earlier rounds featured three or four-set matches, but the first round saw Arthur Bracken and Luke Davies-Stokes battle through an elongated five-setter, which Davies-Stokes took 13-11, 17-19, 11-5, 9-11, 11-5.
Group stage
The lowest-ranked player in Group 2, Todd Stanmore, made it through in second place thanks to victories over Oliver Bryant and Oliver Maric-Murray.
Oliver Michell got above Luke Manning in Group 3 thanks to a 3-2 (7-11, 11-3, 3-11, 11-7, 11-8) victory – he followed top seed Rhys Davies into the knockout stage.
Lowest-ranked player Alessio Marrocco took advantage of the withdrawal of No 2 Nathaniel Birch to come through Group 5, behind Harry Boston. Marrocco’s victory over William Bettley was the key result.
Luke Davies-Stokes, the second-ranked player in Group 6, had a narrow squeak as Charlie Beadle won the first two sets of their clash. But Davies-Stokes came back to win 3-2 (6-11, 9-11, 12-10, 14-12, 11-9) and go through with Mahmood Kelani.
Group 9 saw an upset as the lowest-ranked Che Goulbourne came through in second behind under-11 champion Bertie Kelly, thanks to wins over Mikaeel Toosy and Pranav Gudipati. Kelly needed five to see off both Gudipati and Toosy.
The top two were reversed in Group 7 as Luke Nimmo overcame Nikit Sajiv in four, and it was a similar story in Group 11, where Arthur Bracken defeated Bradley Burgess, this time in five.
In Group 10, Gene McGhee qualified behind Felix Thomis by virtue of a five-set victory over Lewis Ellams (5-11, 11-7, 14-12, 8-11, 11-7).
The last group to finish was Group 8, which contained the day’s longest set as Danny Emery beat Toby Ellis 20-18. But it was not enough to prevent a 3-1 defeat, and both players were eliminated as Charlie Turner and Connor Green advanced to the knockouts.
Under-12 Girls’ Singles
Sophie Chiang went home with two trophies after adding the title to yesterday’s Under-11 crown.
The third seed overcame second-ranked Scarlett O’Neil 3-0, with the second game proving pivotal.
Chiang led it 10-7 but O’Neil, the Under-12 National Cup winner, saved two game points before Chiang clinched it. And she pulled away to win the last for the loss of only two points.
Both semi-finals had gone to a decider, with O’Neil fending off Jasmine Williams on her third match point, taking it 11-9, 11-6, 7-11, 5-11, 11-9.
The other tie saw Chiang looking down and out against unseeded Anaya Patel at 2-0 down. But Londoner Chiang turned it around to triumph 3-2 (8-11, 10-12, 11-7, 12-10, 11-5).
Patel had caused the big shock of the event in the quarter-finals when Patel came from 2-0 down to turn the tables on top seed Ruby Chan, finally taking her fourth match point to seal it 3-2 (8-11, 2-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-9).
Group stage
Top seed Ruby Chan started inconsistently in her first match before seeing off Angharad Beman 3-2 (11-2, 9-11, 11-7, 6-11, 11-2) in Group 1, while second seed Scarlett O’Neil also needed five to defeat Anaya Patel in Group 2 – Patel making it through also.
Mari Baldwin came from 2-0 down to higher-ranked Amillia Baker to seal second place in Group 3 behind Sophie Chiang. The score was 11-13, 8-11, 11-8, 12-10, 13-11.
Mukmanee Warburton upset Kirsty Maull in four sets to take second place in Group 4 behind Alana Mansfield.
In Group 5, Holly Smithson needed five games to see off Sophie Rinnhofer in her opening match as she and Helena Dicken lived up to rankings to finish in the top two.
There was a three-way tie behind Amy Marriott in Group 6, with Lola McGhee getting the nod on countback against Isobel McGerty and Samadhi Udamulla.
Under-10 Boys’ Singles
Controversy in the final point as Connor Green celebrates early, but it still stands. He is the 2016 U10 Champion!! pic.twitter.com/EytCmyxvXP
— Table Tennis England (@TableTennisENG) June 26, 2016
Top seed Connor Green recovered from the loss of the first game to sink second seed Oliver Maric-Murray in four.
Maric-Murray took that opener 12-10 but Green showed some class in claiming the next three.
It was a good day for the Green family as Connor’s twin sister Anna won silver in the Under-10 Girls’ Singles to add to a bronze in yesterday’s Under-11s, giving the twins a complete set of medals between them.
Green earlier came through his semi-final in fine style against fourth seed James Hamblett, taking it 3-0 (7, 4, 3), while Maric-Murray needed four against Danny Emery (11-4, 12-10, 10-12, 11-3).
Maric-Murray prevailed in a five-game quarter-final against Harry Yip (11-5, 11-9, 7-11, 3-11, 11-8).
There was a five-setter in the first round, won by Yip at 11-9 in the decider against Ben Poulter, while Tom Powlesland shared a couple of marathon games with Ed Gooze-Zijl before winning it 3-1 (11-5, 11-7, 13-15, 18-16).
Group stage
Ben Poulter overtook Mark Balon in Group 1 with a 3-2 scoreline (11-9, 7-11, 4-11, 11-5, 11-6) to take his place in the knockout stage.
Group 4 saw Nathaniel Saunders overturn the rankings to beat Jonah Hannaway 3-2, having lost the first two. The final score was 8-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-4 as Saunders went through behind James Hamblett.
Luke Hodgson leapfrogged Georgios Geriakos to take second in Group 5, helped by a five-game victory over Ptolemy Beman (6-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-6, 11-7) as well as beating Geriakos in three.
Harry Yip beat Tom Powlesland 13-11, 15-13, 11-6 as the top two positions were reversed in Group 6.
Under-10 Girls’ Singles
Lucy Gent won all four matches to lift the title after a round-robin battle.
Gent beat Jessica Moggeridge and Katie Bates in three straight and Saskia Key and Anna Green in four to take the gold medal.
The tie with Green was the deciding factor, with both girls on three wins as they faced each other in the competition’s last match.
And it went the way of Gent 3-1 (11-9, 7-11, 11-9, 11-7).
Green won her other three matches to finish in the silver medal position, while Key won the bronze thanks to a 3-2 (11-6, 8-11, 13-11, 9-11, 11-9) victory over Moggeridge in her final match.
Bates registered one victory, against Moggeridge.
* Recently qualified International Umpires Nico Caltabiano and Lyndon Griffiths were presented with their awards, as was new National Umpire Kim Mudge. Two other new appointments, Derek Sidaway (IU) and Lester Smith (NU), were unable to attend the championships.
Final results
Under-12 Boys’ Singles
Jamie Liu bt Louis Price 3-1 (11-0, 11-13, 11-4, 11-8)
Under-12 Girls’ Singles
Sophie Chiang bt Scarlett O’Neil 3-0 (11-7, 11-9, 11-2)
Under-10 Boys’ Singles
Connor Green bt Oliver Maric-Murray 3-1 (10-12, 11-6, 11-5, 11-5)