Table tennis – prizes and winnings

In Scottish table tennis, the end of the season is approaching. Several major tournaments have been organized while the local leagues are coming to an end.

Following Calum Morrison and Faye Leggett’s national championship victories, table tennis players from Edinburgh and Lothian have achieved further success.

Inter league

Edinburgh and Lothians won the coveted Stewart McGowan Award at the recent Inter-League event held in Perth. This annual competition organized by Table Tennis Scotland, features teams representing Scottish local league associations in various age group events. These range from minors (under 13) to veterans (over 40). The two-day competition was full of good matches, and all associations participated well in the overall event.

The Edinburgh & Lothians team won in five categories: Veteran Men, Women, Junior Girls, Junior Boys and Minor Boys. They dominated the women’s competition and their B team won the event, beating Edinburgh & Lothians A 3-0 in the final match.

It was an intense and high-quality contest between the two sides, with Mae Ng (Edinburgh University) and Emma Qu (Murrayfield) playing particularly well to beat the A team, which includes recently crowned Scottish champion Faye Leggett. In the Junior Girl’s event Holly McNamara (Edinburgh University) and the fast developing Nichole Lee (Murrayfield) came out on top.

The Veterans event is often one of the most spirited events in the Inter-League and this was certainly true this year as there is very little between the top. Edinburgh & Lothians’ veteran side, captained by Keith Dingwall, finished level with Dundee A and Aberdeen, but beat them on a comeback. After a very tight loss to Aberdeen, a tight win over Dundee was key to their win. Greig McDonell’s “ugly” victory over Paul Monteith was a typical hard fought match.

The Junior Boys event was particularly exciting and ended in a great final between West of Scotland and Edinburgh & Lothians. The competition went straight to the final match, a high quality affair between Murrayfield’s Charlie McGowan and North Ayrshire’s Nathan Hogg. The match reached a crescendo in the fourth set. Play at other tables was halted as players and spectators tried to catch a glimpse of the outcome. The demonstrations became longer and more intense. Hogg bravely fended off three match points before McGowan’s fine forehand loop helped him seal the set 15-13 and the match 3-1. McGowan’s little jump of joy showed the importance of the win to him and his side.

Another great finish saw Bohao Chen beat Matthew Psonka (Aberdeen) in an epic duel to help his team win the Minor Boys trophy. All eyes were once again on the match, where fortunes and emotions fluctuated. It brought out the theatrical nature of close table tennis matches.

The only major disappointment for the Edinburgh & Lothians team was their performance in the Senior Men’s event. This was dominated by a very strong West of Scotland A side that included leading players Danny Bajwa and Christopher Wheeler. They won all their matches 3-0, including second-placed Dundee A. Despite a good comeback win, the Edinburgh & Lothians team (which included Gordon Muir & Yiming Tang from Murrayfield and Willie Mabon from North Merchiston) could not. to challenge for the trophy. At least they finished on a high, defeating the Edinburgh & Lothians B team 3-0. In the B team, Raphael Valeri (Heriot Watt University) put in an impressive performance over the weekend, including a very close 2-3 loss to the A team’s Gordon Muir.

Prime Minister victory for team Murrayfield

Before the events of the Inter-league, the decisive action of the ELTTL (Edinburgh & Lothians Table Tennis League) had happened. Murrayfield I have been a dominant side Edinburgh & Lothians Table Tennis League for a few years. They have now won it in the last four seasons following Edinburgh University’s historic triumph in 2017-18.

This year they faced significant challenges from strong players representing Fife (playing for Inverkeithing), a good West Lothian team and Murrayfield’s own 2nd and 3rd teams. Edinburgh University I’ve also been competitive with a number of very talented players in their squad but haven’t been able to consistently deliver strong points.

Murrayfield I won the league title with a 9-1 victory against an underpowered Fife I team. They then beat Murrayfield III 6-4 in a tight contest. Soon after, they confirmed league supremacy with victory against Murrayfield II in an entertaining match that finished late into the night. Team captain Muir led from the front and won his three matches with impressive performances. He was well supported by Borui Chen (two wins) and Charlie McGowan (one win) as they took the match 7-3.

Muir had enjoyed a “fun” season, with everyone on the team involved. There were experienced players such as Danilo Celli, but also youngsters Borui Chen and Charlie McGowan, who have played in a large number of matches.

Murrayfield has traditionally promoted its most promising young players to its top team to aid their development. Chen and McGowan follow in the illustrious footsteps of Colin Dalgleish and Calum Morrison, who were men’s singles champions in 2020 and 2023, respectively. They both played for Murrayfield’s top team as youngsters and quickly accelerated their league averages.

As in most amateur sports, consistently eliminating strong points is key to winning the league. Muir reflected that Murrayfield, after the early Penicuik I slip, had been able to “get the upside when it mattered”. This included Ukraine’s Andrii Paniushkin bolstering the side, including a key match against Edinburgh University when McGowan was unavailable. Murrayfield won this match 6-4 as Paniushkin grabbed two important wins.

Muir felt that the overall standard of the league had been quite strong, “with at least one good player in the team”. These included the likes of North Merchiston’s Willie Mabon and Haddington’s Pete Lugton, both of whom returned to the Premier Division this season. Lugton, a former Scotland international, currently leads the individual scoring averages in the Premier Division, just ahead of Borui Chen. As a result of this strengthening, there have been significantly more tight and competitive matches than in some previous years. Murrayfield’s league title certainly did not come easily.

The ELTTL season will conclude with the 2023 Awards Ceremony and Handicap Cup Final, which will be held at the Out of the Blue Drill Hall (Leith) on Friday 21 April 2023.

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