Suitable for the finals of the table tennis season

The Edinburgh and Lothians Table Tennis League (ELTTL) raised the curtain on their season at a social and awards night on Friday.

The well-attended event was held for the first time at Out of the Blue in Leith. Although primarily an arts center, Out the Blue Drill Hall has had a long relationship with sports. In the 1950s, the hall hosted matches for the women’s division of the local league, and in the last decade has also hosted the very popular Wiff Waff Wednesday social ping pong event. a great place for competitive matches and social events.

On Friday, Out of the Blue was full of young and old players reflecting on a good season. Participation in the league has returned to pre-pandemic levels, while there is a lot of coaching activity in the area.

This was reflected in the victory of the Edinburgh & Lothians team in the Inter-League organized by Table Tennis Scotland and the success of Faye Leggett (University of Edinburgh) and Calum Morrison (ex-Murrayfield & Edinburgh Sports Club) in the Scottish National Championships in Perth.

Cup final

The evening started with the final of the Handicap Cup, where the teams were aiming to pick up the Edinburgh Evening News and Dispatch Rosebowl. This competition allows players of different skill levels to compete equally and often produces highly entertaining matches. It runs in parallel with ELTTL league matches. The teams have battled during the season.

In the end, the two Murrayfield teams met. In their semi-final, Murrayfield 4 went through a very tough battle against Penicuik, with William Wang winning three of his matches. Murrayfield 3 had beaten Murrayfield 2 5-3 in a semi-final that could have gone either way. Angus Hallidays’ three wins for Murrayfield 3 proved absolutely crucial.

The Handicap Cup final featured 5 young players, all born in 2010 or 2011, who show huge promise. Highlights included a great match between youngsters Angus Halliday and Rory Thomson. This involved some truly spectacular rallies, with the ball often disappearing high up towards the glass ceiling before somehow landing back on the table. These intense and skillful demonstrations were greatly appreciated by the participants. The players’ potential is clearly visible. Despite Thomson’s spirited comeback in the third set, Halliday came out on top.

William Wangs vs Max Well was a great contest between an orthodox topspin based game and a backspin dominated defensive game. In his cutting style, Well took several shots from the far side of the field, which got many gasps and gobbles from the crowd.

In what proved to be the last game, Murrayfield head coach Gordon Muir was really tested by Nichole Lee, who created impressive corners with a strong backhand. The match included quality exchanges. In the end, Muir’s tricky variations helped him gain the upper hand, and he finished the match with a powerfully driven backhand. 5-1 win for his team, Murrayfield 3. Also of interest are Team 3s Jerry Ji and Junji Hua, who played in earlier rounds but were unavailable for later rounds. The result meant Murrayfield Memorial Club lifted the Edinburgh Evening News and Dispatch Rosebowl for the 14th time in its history.

Awards

Several of those who participated in the Cup final were also awarded. Awards and pendants were presented by league president Lindsay Muir and league match secretary Kenneth Benjamin. Winners included Rory Thomson (Murrayfield IX) who was named best junior after a very steep climb. The Mike Allison Junior Player of the Year Award was won by Nichole Lee (Murrayfield IX). Lee has a very impressive recent record, including a fantastic performance at last year’s Primary School Internationals where he beat England no. 1 and 2 in the team competition and won bronze.

The prestigious Kirkwood Trophy for outstanding contribution to table tennis in the area was awarded to Calum Morrison. This accolade came after his victory at the recent Scottish National Championships. Calum’s victory in the men’s singles was nothing short of exceptional, despite facing a very strong group of players – Chris Wheeler, Sean Doherty, Colin Dalgleish, Danny Bajwa – en route to the final. In the final against Martin Johnson (North Ayrshire), Calum came from 3-1 down, saving a match point in the process and winning the deciding 7th set. Before leaving Edinburgh for Nottingham University, Morrison had an excellent record in Scottish tournaments, the ELTTL and the Handicap Cup, including a 100% average in the Premier Division in 2014-15.

Awards were also given to the leading player in each division. In the Premier Division, Borui Chen Champions Murrayfield I won the individual award, only 0.1% from Peter Lugton of Haddington I. This followed a rearranged final between Murrayfield I and Haddington where Lugton’s loss to Zihao Li cost him the number one spot. A leading player in the 1990s and early 2000s, Lugton has recently made an impressive return to competition, playing prominent administrative and coaching roles in table tennis in East Lothian and Scotland.

Jakub Kara won the Division 1 award. His Edinburgh University II team won the league and have been promoted to the Premier Division along with West Lothian II, who just pipped Corstorphine I to second. Raphael Valeri of Heriot-Watt University I was a dominant player in Division 2, winning all 57 matches he played. Valeri was impressive throughout the season, including representing Edinburgh at the recent Inter-League event in Perth. His club-mate Vladyslav Kapinus (Heriot-Watt University II) was the top player in Division 3, but only 0.3 per cent clear of Keith Walker of Edinburgh Sports Club III, who returned to action this season. Murrayfield XI’s fast-developing Max Well topped the Division 4 averages. However, his team had to settle for second in the league behind Corstorphine IV.

The final standings of the league

• Premier League Winners – Murrayfield I
• Runner-up – Murrayfield II
• Division 1 Winners – University of Edinburgh II
• Runner Up – West Lothian II
• Division 2 Winners – Murrayfield IX
• Runner-up – Penicuik III
• Division 3 winners – Corstorphine III
• Runner-up – Edinburgh Sports Club III
• Division 4 winners – Corstorphine IV
• Second place – Murrayfield XI

Individual awards

• Player of the Year Kirkwood Trophy:
• Calum Morrison (Murrayfield)
• Most Improved Junior – Rory Thomson (Murrayfield IX)
• Most Improved Senior – Yufeng Xia (Edinburgh University IV)
• Most Improved Veteran – John Ormiston (Gullane)
• Dr Mike Allison Junior Player of the Year Award: Nichole Lee (Murrayfield IX)

The John Glen Player’s Player of the Year award went to Graeme Sutherland of Edinburgh Sports Club I, with one vote for Robert Porteus of Penicuik IV and Josselin Nespoux of Edinburgh International IV.

Fife IV’s Neil Hoggan won the special Kenneth Benjamins Award for best performance during his seven years as Match Secretary.

Photos: Ewa Well photography

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