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OUR CHELMSFORD CLOSED TOURNAMENT
HEROES
Club members were in action over
the weekend 23- 25 January in the M&G Investments sponsored Chelmsford Closed
Table Tennis Championships held at the Anglia Polytechnic University. No fewer than
22 members took part and, we are pleased to report, some had great
success.
The pictures below, by courtesy of Tournament Photographer Arthur C
Clark, take up a few of the stories.
Junior Girls Champion
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Ladies
First!
15 year old Laura Pyman had
a very good weekend. Winning the Junior Girls Singles where she
beat Lorna Staff (ECC) in the final. With club mate Steve Clift
she also reached the semi-final of the Junior Doubles. Laura
also competed well in the Ladies Singles, Open U15 Singles and
6Down events.
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Ladies Doubles Winner
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Sticking
with the ladies for a moment. It was another good Tournament
weekend for 12 times Ladies Single Champion Julie Vansertima,
now playing for the Club in Division 2. With partner Jean
Chasmer (Danbury) she retained the Ladies Doubles title, and
will be appearing on Finals Night (Mon 16th Feb at OC's) bidding
for her 13th Singles title and to retain the Mixed Doubles title
with partner David Cole (ECC), with whom she appears here in our
shot. |
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Juniors to
the Fore |
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Not to be
outdone by his Mum, 12 year old Rykki Vansertima had a very busy
weekend. Triumphing in the U13 Singles where he overcame club
mate Haydn Upson 7,9,9 in a very competitive final. Haydn had
earlier beaten Rykki over 5 ends in the early rounds of the
Junior Boys singles event. But revenge is always sweet,
especially when it is in the Final! Haydn and Rykki are pictured
together following one of several battles on the table during
the weekend.
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U21 Singles
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Always a
high quality event, that's how it gains a place on Finals Night,
the U21 Singles frequently features some of the best talent in
the League, and that was certainly the case this year with 3 of
the 4 semi-final places going to serious contenders for the top
honour of the Men's Singles title. So to gain a semi-final place
in such company is no mean achievement. That's exactly what John
Patman did. And acquitted himself very well indeed, just missing
out on a place in the final 12,5,12 to first division super star
Vytas Rybakas (Elmtree).
John is pictured here (right) with Vytas at the end of their
semi-final encounter. |
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Handicap Doubles |
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The Tournament
always throws up a few surprises and quite often these are in the
Handicap events, which are amongst the most popular events of the
weekend. And for Steve Clift these events certainly made his
weekend! Pictured here (left) with club mate Bob Francis they took
the Handicap Doubles 21:15, 21:17 over 3rd Division pairing of
Richard Hiskey and Bill Smith. Steve also had a brilliant run in
the Handicap Singles (the most popular event of the weekend)
storming through to take the final from fellow Division 6 player
Hector Mcfarlane (OC's) 21:7, 21:9
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And Finally ....!
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The Club has for a
number of years had a very good record in the 4Down competition. And
this year, in a pulsating final, Gareth Joice took the 4Down Singles
title from the holder Matthew Brown (Writtle) 7,9,-9,-5,8. And
here's irony, Gareth's team played Writtle in the League the very
next night, when Matt exacted revenge 3 straight! making Gareth's
tournament win one of the top success stories of the weekend! |
You can find some more
Tournament Pictures on the CDTTL
site
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