TTT30 Spring 2023

World Veteran Championships (WVC)
Muscat, Oman: 15 th -21 st January 2023
All photos by Mike Rhodes
It was nice to have this event back in the calendar as it hadn’t been run since 2018 when it was held in Las
Vegas. The tournament in Bordeaux in 2021 was first postponed and then cancelled due to Covid-19. Oman
was the first time that the WVC had run in the Middle East and also the first time that the ITTF had run it. The
authority had been handed over to them from the Swaythling Club International who had run it since it’s
inception in 1982.
Entries were much lower than usual with a total of 1,181 and only 22 from England, three from Wales and one
from Scotland. However, what they lost in quantity they made up for in quality with a good haul of medals.
There were only nine home nation players – all men!
There were many excellent performances including Lorestas Trumpauskas who was probably the star of the
England players when he narrowly missed out on the gold medal in the O50 Men’s Singles to Dane, Henrik
Vendelbo. Sandra Rider, too, came away with a silver medal in the O70 Women’s Singles losing to Japan’s
Kazuko Horino. She got a second medal, a silver, in the O70 Women’s Doubles playing with Hildegard Georgi
of Germany.
Lorestas Trumpauskas and Sandra Rider
Seasoned veteran player, Betty Bird, reached the semi-finals in the O85 Women’s Singles losing to her doubles
partner, Mariann Blasberg and won gold in the O85 Women’s Doubles, to add to her considerable medal haul
over the years. Roy Norton with Wales’s Dennis Bromage achieved a similar semi-final place in the O80 Men’s
Doubles. A special mention must be made of Michael Marsden, who now plays under Wales colours, who won
a gold in the O40 Men’s Doubles with Gregor Foerster of Germany.
Betty Bird and Michael Marsden & Gregor Foerster
TTT: Issue 30: Spring 2023
9