Veteran Team Championships end with a smash as champions crowned

We recently witness one of Table Tennis Wales’ major leagues has just come to a close, with the Veterans Team Championships concluding with a bang.

A two-weekend marathon of table tennis, we had 15 teams competing across our two divisions with a total of 70 competitors over both weekends.

The first weekend of competition, held in Cardiff, set the tone for our final showdown, as the teams travelled up to Bangor.

Table Tennis Wales would like to thank Bangor University for hosting the competition so brilliantly, as we reaped the rewards of a new partnership between Bangor University and TTW.

 

In the Premier Division, Gwent C stole the show with a dominant performance. Lee Thomas only dropped one match with an impressive 96%, and wingman Danny Harris won 91% over both weekends.

Second and third place came down to the last match, as a dramatic showdown between Cardiff A and Amlwch A took centre stage.

Cardiff A were odds-on favourites going into it, two points ahead of Amlwch A. Cardiff’s Bryan Fernandes, however, had to pull out due to an injury, giving Amlwch a glimmer of hope.

A big fight from Jeff Rigby and John Pain, though, earned Cardiff A two wins and secured enough games to take second spot, while Amlwch A ended up occupying third place.

 

There was no shortage of tension in the First Division, either, as three horses, in the shape of Wrexham, Swansea C and Gwent D, remained in the race heading into the final weekend.

Wrexham’s decision to bring in extra reinforcements made the difference, however. Playing as the side’s number one  and winning an impressive 14 from 14, Mark Pugh’s forehand smash was pure and dominant on the table.

Swansea C did give the North Walians a scare with a 3-3 draw, although Wrexham were ultimately too strong and secured their gold medal.

The team from Swansea ended up taking second spot, while Gwent D earned Bronze in that First Division race.

 

TTW would like to say thank you and congratulations to all who took part over the course of a thrilling couple of weekends.

A special thank you must also go to Aaron Beech and Peter Higgins for organising and running the event.