End of an Era at Chelsea Academy
West London Ping Springs into Spring
Eamon Brennan – 10th March 2019An unexpected ‘double double’ turned up for the Chelsea Academy Table Tennis Club, when their Under 13 boys and girls took the gold and silver medals in this year’s Central London Schools Individual Qualification event. Held at the prestigious Greenhouse Sports Centre in Marylebone, Brandon Sangchin and Noor Al Hakim were both victorious in their respective Under 13 events. Brandon got the better of fellow team mate, Harry Derecki in a hard fought final, whilst Noor triumphed over the rapidly improving Miriam Yonas in the girl’s final.
All four players will now represent the Chelsea Academy in the All-London Jack Petchey finals on the 27th April.
Barnes Primary School Girls take second place in South of England Championships
After a torrid opening match which saw the Barnes Girls slump to an 8-0 defeat to the eventual winners, the Barnes girls showed great resilience to bounce back in their next two matches and claim second place in the South of England Schools Under 11 Championships held at the Bristol Sports Academy. All five players; Emily, Clementine, Josie, Diana and Lara played a vital role in the impressive fight-back, a fight-back that saw them eventually prevail over their other two opponents and take second place. It was not quite enough to get them to the national finals but it was a creditable performance nevertheless and ensured that Barnes Primary was once again amongst the top eight schools in the country.
London Ranking Tournaments
West London Pingers were back in action last weekend in the latest London Ranking Tournament, this one being held at the London Academy in Edgware, and once again West London Ping formed the largest contingent with over thirty players involved.
Although the majority of those players only get to play once or twice a week, they proved yet again that they can compete successfully against the growing army of London table tennis players. Special congratulations to Jacques Vander, Mohammed Larbi and Orlando Smith who all reached the semi-finals of their respective events with Jacques and Orlando both going all the way to the finals.
Just as in the previous tournaments, this one had its many highlights. There was the 17 amazing Yr 2 students from the London Academy Primary school who battled away for honours in what is turning out to be a tournament within a tournament. Special congratulations to their coach Miss Hiba, an international competitor in her own right, for her excellent organising and coaching skills.
Then there was the now regular Band 6B event where a group of beginners battle away for a special band 6B trophy. On this occasion it went to Daniel Quinn from the William Hogarth School in Chiswick but not before some serious challenges from Anastasia, James B, Emma P, Riannah O, and Tracey C.
A big congratualtions to Gabriel Achampong from the London Acdemy who once again prevailed in the battle for Band 1. As the top seed and one of England’s top Under 21 competitors, he was expected to come out on top, but he had to see off a very determined challenge from former winner Cain Fagan, in the semi-final. Congratulations also to the Masood brothers, Ayaan and Sami who between them took the Band 4, 5 and 6 titles.
The next London Ranking tournament will be a Satellite event taking place at the Chelsea Academy, Lots Road SW10 0AB on the 29th March 5pm to 8pm. There will be just two bands to choose from; Band 5 for the beginners and Band 3 for the more experienced players. Online bookings open this week on the londonping.co.uk website or email your entry to westlondonping.co.uk On the day registration opens at 4pm
Richmond Park Table Tennis Club: A new kid on the block
A brand new table tennis venture has been set up in the Richmond Park Academy and it looks like it is going to be a winner. Already thirty five youngsters, ranging from the complete novice through to some very proficient secondary school players, have signed up for the spring term. Part of the growing West London Ping network, this new venture draws on the existing RPA table tennis club as well as its links to its surrounding primary schools, particularly drawing on the experienced youngsters from nearby Barnes Primary.
The secret of the early success has been the willingness of the RPA students to coach the incoming primary school players. A huge thank you to Mohammed, Josh, Ed, Joseph and Ollie without whose help the project would quickly fade.
As an early sign of the vibrancy of this new table tennis set-up, no less than ten players took part in the latest London ranking tournament winning an impressive 27 matches between them. And we think there is a lot more to come. For more details visit their website richmondparktt.co.uk or email them at richmondparktt@gmail.com
Finally, a huge congratulations to Francesco Bonato (and his coach Natacha Moura) from Fox Primary, who has been selected to play for the England Schools Primary School team next month. We wish him well.