Guildford Table Tennis News March 2024

Published on: 19 Mar, 2024
Updated on: 18 Mar, 2024

By Steve Day

Another quick reminder that the 2024 Guildford TTA Closed Tournament will be held on April 20 and 21 at Christ’s College, Guildford. Closing Date for entries is April 15. Entry forms are available on the GTTA website: https://guildford.ttleagues.com/article/guildfordclosed2024

Guildford National Junior League Report by Adam Laws

Guildford’s three National Junior League teams were in action on February 25 in Horsham.

Guildford A team.

Guildford A were represented by Anay Gandhi, Seamus Walker and Alexis Solomonides. Guildford B were represented by Jack Liu, Chen Liang and Curran Kulkarni. Guildford C were represented by Nathan Faulkner, Evan Faulkner and Ryan Troop. Guildford A participated in division 1; Guildford B and Guildford C in division 2.

Guildford A finished fourth in the table with 11 points. Anay Gandhi topped the averages with nine out of 10 wins. His only defeat came against champions Sparta A’s Thomas Raeburn. Seamus Walker added two wins.

https://ncl-njl-horsham.ttleagues.com/league/2877/division/8111

Guildford B team.

Guildford B finished top of division 2 with 24 points out of a possible 27. Jack Liu won 8 out of 8; Chen Liang won 7 out of 8 and Curran Kulkarni won 6 out of 8. They also won medals for being the strongest team in the B division over the whole season.

Guildford C team.

Guildford C finished third in Division 2. Nathan and Evan Faulkner won 3 and 2 singles matches respectively. Debutant Ryan Troop won once.

https://ncl-njl-horsham.ttleagues.com/league/2877/division/8112

League Round-Up

This month we start with the Premier Division, where Burymead B continue at the top with 95 points from 16 matches.

Godalming A are now in second place with 81 points from 17 matches. However, their position looks temporary as in third and fourth places are Burymead A and Merrow A with 76 points from only 15 matches.

Godalming B look doomed to finish in last place with just 34 points from 15 matches.

Ross Saxby.

Match of the month was the club derby between Burymead A and B where Ross Saxby maintained his great form with three wins out of three.

He was ably supported by Phil Snelson and Axel Raeder. Daniel Heo won two out of his three matches for the A team and was the only one to really offer any real resistance.

Ross continues to head the averages closely followed by Godalming’s Adam Laws with Daniel and Phil in joint third place.

Whilst Burymead B may still have a tiny bit to do to wrap up the Premier Division, Godalming C seem to have an insurmountable lead in Division One after beating their closest rivals, Challoner A, 9-0.

Vijay Bhaskar.

They now head the division by 20 points with only four matches left to play. Great to see Vijay Bhaskar playing more regularly.

Equally, Challoner A, despite the loss, appear to have sewn up second place as they have a lead of 17 points over third placed Abinger A.

Bramley A are at the bottom, 7 points adrift of Aftermath A who have played a game less. Topping the averages is Kinga Oryl with an amazing 92.11%.

The race for the Division Two is still open although College C look favourites. They have a 20-point lead over Aftermath B but have played two more matches and face their closest rivals before the season ends. In third place is Merrow E.

In a repeat of the Division One situation, Bramley B looked doomed to relegation. They have won only one match this season which is a stark comparison to their success in the lower division last year.

No change at the top of the averages but it’s a tight race as College Hill’s Julian Blanc and Paul Tanton try to close the gap on leader, Christopher Copps of Aftermath.

On to Division Three where the race for honours looks to be going to the line. College D are in the lead with 78 points from 13 matches but are closely followed by Merrow G with 70 points from 12 matches.

One point further back are Godalming F, but they have played 14 matches. Merrow G would be much closer had they not had to field a team with one person short against a mid table Bramley C.

College Hill teammates, Caden Wilson and James Clement top the averages with 93.94% and 84.62%, respectively.

And finally, to Division Four where Woking D look to be untouchable as they have a 14-point lead over rivals Aftermath C.

They strengthened their lead over their rivals by beating them 6-3 just before the month end. This was despite stiff resistance from Aftermath’s Frank Roberts and John Setterfield.

Merrow J are a further 4 points behind, in third place. The battle for the last of the last is between Woking C and Abinger B with just two points separating the teams at the end of February.

Sumit Kumar tops the averages with 21 wins out of 21! Following closely behind is teammate Andy Smart with 95.24% and Robert Warren of Merrow J with 83.33%.

Veterans British League

The Central team.

In the Veterans Men’s British League, Godalming’s Adam Laws and Burymead’s Phil Snelson helped Central finish top of Division 1, Group 1.

Adam ended the weekend with an average of 93.75%. The full team comprised Adam Laws, Chris Clinton, Dave Savage and Phil Snelson.

Coaching Tips

Ever wondered about attending a training camp?

As we approach the end of the season I’ve noticed more and more media articles advertising summer training camps and coaching courses. Personally, I think they are a great idea but you have to choose the one that’s right for you, in terms of fitness and standard of play.

Normally, they stipulate suitability. Some people like to incorporate travel so they have the chance to meet and play against different people.

If you’re particularly keen on the travel part, then there are very popular camps in Denmark and Hungary each year. What do they include? Here’s an example of some of the areas:

General fitness and how to prepare for matches – do you do any warm up exercises before picking up your bat?

Mental approach – concentration and focus.

Serving and receiving.

Understanding spin – your’s and their’s – including playing against different types of rubbers.

Defence versus attack.

Top spin rallying.

These are just a few of things you may encounter. If you’re serious about improving your game then there’s only one way – practice, practice, practice and attending a coaching course or training camp is a great way to set you in the right direction.

If you are unable to travel there are also coaching programmes available online.

Website of the Guildford Table Tennis League.