TTT30 Spring 2023

World Table Tennis Senior Events
Photos courtesy of WTT
WTT Contender, Durban, South Africa: 10 th -15 th January 2023
2023 kicked off with this tournament in the city which is to host the World Championships later this year. Paul
Drinkhall and Tom Jarvis were the England entries playing in the Men’s Singles and as a pair in the Men’s
Doubles.
Both players entered the Men’s Singles competition in the main draw at round of 32. Jarvis (WR 121) played
exceptionally well to defeat the much higher ranked player, Xue Fei of China (WR 68), with a very comfortable
scoreline 5, 8, 7. He then had to face another Chinese player, Lin Shidong (WR 46). Jarvis gave his opponent a
good game but the final score was -9, 7, 10, 4 to Lin.
Drinkhall (WR 78) had the toughest of draws for his first match as he faced number one seed, Hugo Calderano
from Brazil (WR 7), a match which didn’t last long with a 4, 8, 4 result in favour of the Brazilian.
Seeded four in the Men’s Doubles, Drinkhall and Jarvis went straight
through to the quarter-finals where they met South Africans, Luke
Abrahams and Kurt Lingeveldt. It was an easy victory for the
Englishmen winning 5, 5, 8. Their next opponents were a different
kettle of fish, the number one seeds, Chinese pair, Xu Xingbin and Xu
Haidong. The Englishmen played well together, not a usual
combination, especially in the second game where they saved and had
game points but it was Xu and Xu who won 8, 13, 7.
Tom Jarvis & Paul Drinkhall
WTT Contender: Doha, Qatar: 15 th -21 st January 2023
Sam Walker (WR 102) was the sole Englishman in the Men’s Singles and he had a good win in his first match,
qualifying round two, when he beat Mohammed Abdulwahhab from Qatar (WR 210) with a 9, 7, 8 win. He
then had to face the much higher ranked Portuguese, Joao Geraldo (WR 52), and this time it was Walker who
lost 3-0 with a 8, 2, 9 scoreline.
On the distaff side it was Tin-Tin Ho (WR 155) who was England’s solitary representative and she lost at the
first time of asking to Chantal Mantz of Germany (WR 120) 7, 9, 9.
Ho played with her regular doubles partner, Karoline Mischek, Austria but they weren’t successful this time
round and lost to Korea Republic’s Shin Yubin and Jeon Jihee 4, 2, 9 in the round of 16.
Tin-Tin Ho &Sam Walker
The Mixed Doubles had the two English players team up and they
won their first qualifying match against Samuel Kulczycki and
Katarzyna Wegrzyn of Poland to put them through into the main
draw. Here, they had a real battle against the number two seeds,
Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Manika Batra, both players who are
ranked much higher than them in singles events and as a pair in
mixed doubles. Walker and Ho have always played well together
and this match was no exception. They could consider themselves
a trifle unlucky not to get the win. They put up a good fight before
going down -6, 8, -8, 7, 8.
TTT: Issue 30: Spring 2023
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