Last weekend saw the rearranged Junior Masters tournament come to Grantham College, after the event was postponed in January due to bad weather.
The event was one of the highest calibre tournaments in the English table tennis calendar with lots of top quality matches on show. It saw 14 of the top Junior boys and girls fight it out over the course of two days for the coveted Masters titles.
After two days of fierce competition and exciting table tennis action, the Junior Masters reached its conclusion. In the boys, Sam Walker (Ng) came first, winning all of his matches. Igor Morais (Mi) was runner up and George Downing (Do) came third. In the girls’ event, Tin-Tin Ho (Mi) was crowned Masters champion and completed the double, winning both the Cadet and Junior Masters this season. Maria Tsaptsinos (Bk) was a gallant runner up and Lois Peake (Sx) took third place.
Both days of play were thrilling with lots tension as players fought for final positions in front of England selectors. A high level of fair play was maintained throughout and all players won at least one match.
There was local interest with two players from Lincolnshire competing and one from Grantham. Adam Harrison, who is studying for his A-levels at Grantham College and is part of the Grantham College Table Tennis Academy, played very well to finish fifth. Olivia Churchill also played well, winning two matches and taking many other top junior players close. She finished in 13th place.
Played for the first time at Grantham College, the event this year was run very efficiently, due in part to the superb work of stand-in referee Cathy Steeples, an experienced group of umpires, and the contribution of young, enthusiastic and competent volunteers from the college’s academy.