Storm Darragh failed to dampen the enthusiasm of the table tennis fraternity as many of the players selected to represent their County braved howling winds and fallen trees to attend the Ulster Inter Counties Table tennis championships in Ballymena on Saturday.
Congratulations to Team Antrim for clinching the Ulster Inter-Counties title for a second year running. The winning Co Antrim squad was a stellar collaboration between Ormeau and Glenburn Table Tennis Clubs: Alex Lo, Peadar Sheridan, and Chris White from Ormeau and Steve Hughes and Ken Patterson from Glenburn. (Pictured below)
The nail-biting final was an exciting clash against a formidable County Armagh team featuring Aedan McGivern, Jimmy Robinson, Fergal O’Hagan, and Tomas Toman. Ultimately, Co Antrim emerged victorious with a narrow 4-3 win to claim the C. McBride sponsored Shield.
The Third placed county was County Down A who secured a 5-2 win over County Donegal.
The plate final had County Armagh B pitted against last year’s Plate winners County Down. Another close 4-3 match resulted with the Armagh B team taking the honours. (pictured below)
Thanks to Norman McBride and Jimmy Sterling for organising the event and the Ballymena club for hosting and sponsoring the Jimmy O’Hara Shield for the Inter Counties Plate event. Jimmy was an Irish table tennis player who played for the club up into his nineties. Jimmy sadly passed away last year. A true legend of the game and President of Ballymena Table Tennis Club until his death, the Shield is a fitting tribute to his status in the game.
We’d like to extend our deepest gratitude to all players for their participation and for uniting different clubs in what was an amazing, fun-filled event. A big thank you to Ballymena Academy for the venue.
