Titanic battles in table tennis summer finals

The Mount Gambier Table Tennis Summer Season came to a climactic conclusion last week, with both divisions finals producing suitably exciting results.

After barely scraping into the Division 1 decider by way of a countback of individual games, Ben Newman’s Blackadder were on a mission to cause a sensational upset against Sirinat Sweet’s Goodies. Newman’s team started full of steam, holding a 4-2 lead after the first round of singles rubbers, thanks to strong performances from Newman, Ward Freeman, and Caleb and Mark Bachmann. Cameron Beal and Andrew Telford did their best to keep The Goodies in touch and prevent an early blowout.

A dominant display by Blackadder in the doubles portion of the match meant they only required two more singles wins to claim the title. Doug Megaw, Andrew Telford and Kevin claimed the first three reverse singles rubbers however, dragging the margin back to 8-7 and giving the Goodies hope of staging a dramatic fightback.

Dale and Mark Bachmann would soon put an end to that however, Dale recovering from a game down to record victory over Eion McIluff before Mark dominated Cameron Beal from start to finish to seal the 10-7 victory for Blackadder.

The Division 2 final was an equally thrilling affair, Alan Withers’ Dad’s Army starting red-hot favourites against an understrength Mr. Bean, who had decimated by the loss of their talismanic number one player Richard Van Der Linde to a shoulder injury late in the season, replaced by substitute Youssef Malicdem for the final. Early singles rubbers wins to Withers and Marga Steele were countered by the efforts of Malicdem and Keith Pryor for Mr Bean, leaving the contest delicately poised at 2-all.

Malicdem’s battle with Deakin Lofthouse, who was gunning for a remarkable fifth consecutive championship trophy, was one for the ages. Lofthouse claimed the first game, before Malicdem bounced back to claim the second in emphatic style.

A tense arm wrestle in the third resulted in a 14-12 win to Lofthouse, giving him a slight advantage. Malicdem had been conserving his energy however, enabling him to overpower his opponent in the fourth and final games for a famous victory.

Little separated the two teams all night, until a run of 3 wins to Mr Bean late in the piece gave them a 7-5 advantage and only needing one more win to claim the title. When Dad’s Army player Marga Steele recorded a convincing win over Keith Pryor, it all came down to the final battle of the night, Withers needing to defeat Malicdem to force a draw and countback to decide the champions.

With all other contests completed, a large crowd began to gather on the sidelines, cheering on their respective teammates as they traded powerful groundstrokes, pushing each other back and forth and side to side at each end of the table.

The younger, more nimble Malicdem claimed the first game decisively, before Withers fought back in the second.

The combatants went point for point until, locked at 10-all, the pressure of the occasion caused Withers to send a regulation forehand down into the net, throwing his head back in anguish as the realisation set in that he would need a minor miracle to come back from a two-game deficit. Malicdem was able to keep his foot on his opponent’s throat in the third, his team mates cheering raucously, knowing that victory was only a few points away.

At 10-5 Malicdem saw his opportunity, whipping a forehand across the table, beyond the reach of an outstretched Withers, resulting in wild celebrations all around as Mr. Bean had claimed the Summer season title against all the odds.

Registrations are now open for the Autumn Season, commencing Wednesday, May 3. Practice is held at 7pm on Monday nights, and competition is at 7pm on Wednesday nights at the Mount Gambier Showgrounds Hall.

Registrations can be made as a team of three or an individual. To register your interest, please contact the club at [email protected] or find the club’s Facebook page, or just come along on a Monday night and speak to a friendly welcoming committee member.

Undefeated players:
Division 1: Andrew Telford (Goodies); Mark Bachmann, Ben Newman (Blackadder).
Division 2: Youssef Malicdem (Mr Bean).

SUMMER SEASON CHAMPIONS: (Above from left) Division One premiers – Blackadder & Division Two premiers – Mr Bean