Sunday 12 October saw a record number of 48 junior players, aged between 8 and 16, descend on Coleraine for the second Junior Challenger event of the season. Competitors came from across Northern Ireland, as far afield as Enniskillen and Newcastle, making this a truly regional celebration of youth table tennis.
Kacpur undefeated in Division 1
After a fiercely competitive group stage, players were seeded into their respective divisions. One of the most gripping quarter-final matches saw Reece Maguire edge out Jane Wilson 2-1, with a nail-biting 22-20 game in the mix.
In the first semi-final, Kacpur Januszek scraped through a tense five-game thriller against Charlie Murray, while Reece secured his final spot with a solid win over James Vallelly.
The final lived up to expectations, going the full distance. At 10–10 in the last game, it could have gone either way, but Kacpur held his nerve to take home the trophy and maintain his unbeaten record.
Frank Shirley presenting Kacpur Januszek with Division 1 first place
Elisa shows her class in division 2
Elisa Lo had a straightforward route to the final, not dropping a game in the quarters or semis. Yixuan Zhao on the other hand was taken all the way by David Robson in the quarter-final and then again by Hangyu Li in the semi-final, in matches that could have gone either way.
Elisa was a bridge too far for the tired Yixuan, who had had a lot more table time than Elisa by this stage: she took the trophy in a 3-0 match.
Elisa Lo, Division 2 champion
Frank to the rescue
The group stages of divisions 3 and 4 saw the tournament organisers scratching their heads and searching the internet when one of the group results came back with three of the players drawing in matches, games and points. Frank Shirley came up with a game, which all parties thought was the fairest way to decide. After a few other point-countback groups, the players were separated into divisions 3 and 4, although some players going into division 4 had only lost one match in a six-person group, meaning the standard of both divisions was very similar.
James takes Division 3
After lots of matches, the semi-finals saw Ballymoney’s Callum Brown clinch a five-game match against Toby Canning. In the other semi-final, James Brookfield from Bangor Grammar defeated Vincent Darragh from Strandtown 3-1. James won the final 3-0 in a match which was a lot closer than the scoreline suggests.
James Brookfield, Division 3 champion
Games, games, games
Division 4 players all had a minimum of nine matches each, which proved to be a busy afternoon for all involved. Some of these players were playing in their first ever table tennis tournament, which is testament to the work being carried out by Table Tennis Ulster in local schools.
Three out of the four semi-finalists were local players participating in the hopes squad, organised and coached by the ever-youthful and energetic Frank Shirley.
Coleraine’s Tom Reid booked his way safely into the final with a 3-1 win over Amelia Adams. Yanis Xyntaris, playing in only his second challenger, had a ding-dong battle against local Will Agnew. Yanis eventually took the five-game match, leaving a showdown with Tom Reid to see if the trophy was to stay within the town limits.
Yanis showed amazing consistency at keeping the ball on the table and took the trophy back to Belfast. Well done Yanis!
Yanis Xyntaris, Division 4 champion
The organising committee would like to thank Table Tennis Ulster for allowing us to host a challenger, to all of the parents for bringing their children to Coleraine, also to Causeway Coast and Glens for sharing in the organising, and a special shout-out to Stephen McCartney and to Laura. Thanks to Gervis for organising the entries. We hope to see you all at the next challenger.
