Guildford Table Tennis News December 2023

Published on: 17 Dec, 2023
Updated on: 16 Dec, 2023

By Steve Day

Guildford Junior League – Apertura

Round 3

Guildford Junior League Action.

DariElly scored their first win in the with a 4-1 victory over Merrow Magpies.

Daria Rudovskaia won twice: 3-0 against Tanishkaa Gadage and a closely fought 3-2 victory over Ryan Troop.

She paired up with Elly Cheuk to take the doubles 10-12 12-10 11-5 11-4.

Merrow’s point came courtesy of an 11-6 in the fourth win for Ryan over Elly, who herself scored a 3-0 win over Tanishkaa.

What’s Wong? won their third match out of three 3-2 in a closely-fought match with team Hero.

Bianka Wong and Kayla Wong both defeated Hersley Liu and teamed up to come back from 2-0 down in the doubles against Hersley and Leo Wong to win 8-11, 7-11, 11-5, 11-2, 11-9.

For team Hero, Leo Wong excelled by winning his two matches: 3-0 against Kayla Wong and 3-2 against Bianka Wong.

Round 4

Two 3-2 results in Round 4 leave it all to play for in the final round of the Guildford Junior League – Apertura.

What’s Wong? retained their three point lead at the top with a 3-2 win over DariElly.

Kayla and Bianka Wong won a singles match each against Elly Cheuk and then combined to win a nail-biting doubles match 11-9 in the decider against Elly and Daria Rudovskaia.

For DariElly, Daria won twice against both Kayla and then Bianka.

Merrow Merlins remain hot on the Wongs’ tails with their own 3-2 win against clubmates Merrow Magpies for whom Ryan Troop starred with two singles wins against Evan and Nathan Faulkner – the latter being an exciting 12-10 in the fifth result.

The Faulkners won once each against Tanishkaa Gadage and then the doubles 3-0 against Tanishkaa and Ryan.

What’s Wong? have now played all their matches and must wait to see what happens in the final round of matches.

Women and girls only table tennis sessions

I am pleased to say that these sessions, which are held on a Sunday morning at Loseley Fields Primary School, are now in full swing and the levels of attendance have increased week on week. I

The women and girls only table tennis sessions at Loseley Fileds Primary School.

If you are interested or know somebody who is, contact Adam Laws by email (adamlaws80@gmail.com) to reserve your place.

Whether you are a beginner or have already played; want to learn to play or just want to improve your game, there’s something for you. Our concept is simple, we just want to give more women and girls the opportunity to learn and enjoy playing table tennis in a fun and friendly environment.

League round-up

This month we open with Division Two, where College Hill C led by 17 points at the end of November.

In second place, with a game in hand, was Merrow E, followed by Aftermath B who had two games in hand.

Godalming D were in last place but they had a game in hand over the two teams above them.

Top of the averages is Aftermath B’s Christopher Copps with an impressive 93.33% (14/15).

He is followed by three College Hill C players, Paul Tanton (85.71%), Julian Blanc (83.33%) and Robert Klusch (77.78%).

Completing the top six are Merrow E’s Robert Mitchell (76.19%) and Fulham’s number one fan, Aftermath B’s Dave Wilson (75%).

As with last month, the College Hill club also head Division Three as their D team leads Godalming F by three points. However, the former has a game in hand.

Further down the division are Merrow G and Bramley C, both having played only four matches.

At the bottom and struggling to find any form after being promoted are Challoner B. As at the end of November they had just 10 points out of a possible 63!

Caden Wilson remains unbeaten and consequently still heads the averages, with team mate James Clement not far behind with 85.71%

A special mention for Oscar Snelling who has been ever present for Godlaming F and has an average of almost 80%.

Woking D still head Division Four although their lead has been cut back to four points by chasers, Merrow J who have won seven out of the eight matches played.

Woking are still in good shape though as they have two games matches in hand. They have won all six matches played and dropped a mere seven points.

Three teams, Abinger B, Godalming G and Woking C share last place on 24 points.

Trevor Free.

Predictably, three Woking D players top the averages, namely Slavko Ivanovic, Sumit Kumar and Andy Smart. All remain unbeaten, as does the effervescent, Trevor Free with six out of six.

Now to the Premier Division which has a new leader in the form of Burymead B.

They have a seven-points advantage over second placed Merrow C and nine points over last year’s champions Merrow A.

Godalming B, are in last place by some margin but the rest of the division looks closely matched.

Ross Saxby remains unbeaten and tops the averages. However, up to the end of November he had played only 12 games.

Adam Laws, on the other hand, has played 24 games and won 23 giving him an average of 95.83%.

Phil Snelson.

Burymead A’s Daniel Heo and Burymead B’s Phil Snelson have also played 24 and have averages of 79.19% and 75%, respectively.

A special mention for our treasurer, John Robinson who has played in every game, so far.

And finally, Division One. Godalming C still head the table and have extended their lead to 10 points over second placed Challoner A.

College Hill B are a further six points back in third place. The battle for last place is close with just one point separating Bramley A (31) and Merrow D (30).

Jointly leading the averages with 91.67% are Ash’s Ben Fereday and Challoner A’s Trevor Spraggs. Jonathan Chernett (85.71%) and Kinga Oryl (83.33%) are close behind.

Anay Gandhi.

Special mentions for Anay Gandhi who has stepped up to Division One for Godalming this season and has won nine of the 14 matches played and the redoubtable Trevor Sanders of Aftermath A who has an average of 83.33%

Coaching tips – footwork

It’s obvious when you think about it, but being in the right place at the right time in a fast-paced sport like table tennis is key to being able to return the ball to where you want and not where your opponent wants.

Yes, anticipation and reading the spin are very important, too, but the starting point is with your footwork.

There are many videos available online to help you with how to improve your footwork, but if you need help finding them, just message me at stevedaytt@gmail.com

The best way forward is, of course, to have some coaching sessions. Again, contact me if you want information on coaching.

Mike Kercher

Mike Kercher.

Time to reflect on the passing of Mike Kercher who died in November aged 89.

Many of the older players will have known him and if they were lucky, been coached by him.

He was well known throughout the country and played a big part in the development of our sport as well as many individual players, some of which, went on to play at international level.

A full obituary is available on: https://www.tabletennisengland.co.uk/obituary-noted…/

Website of the Guildford Table Tennis League.