Learning curve for Imperial Men's Table Tennis team

Wednesday 20 July saw Imperial College Table Tennis Men’s First team making their debut in the European Universities Sports Association championships in Madeira, Portugal.

The championships consisted of team, individual and doubles competitions which took place over 5 days on the picturesque island of Madeira, Portugal. Now in it’s 5^th year the table tennis championship was a step up in standard for the Imperial team. After an impressive domestic season winning the BUCS premier league and reaching the Semi-finals of the BUCS championships, the team was invited to represent the UK alongside teams from Nottingham, Cambridge, Kent and Kings College London. 

After arriving a day early and getting some training time in the competition hall, the team were positive about the first day's play on Wednesday 20 July. The first game up was against one of the seeded teams from University of Rzeszow, Poland. The Polish, with international players in their side, proved too strong for Imperial, unfortunately beating them 3-0. Imperial knew that they had to win their next game to qualify for the quarter finals the following day. The next match was against Geneva and after a slow start Imperial found themselves 2-0 behind in the tie. With the the pressure seemingly off, Imperial really began to play - winning their next two matches. Going into the last game Imperial were hopeful of a win and a passage into the quarter finals. Unfortunately, the Swiss had other ideas and grabbed a thrilling fifth set to send them through to the quarter finals. The last game saw Imperial finish the day on a high, beating Lisbon 3-1.

After the first day, the team reflected on what had been an eye opening experience. Darius Atashroo (team Captain) said:

"Today was tough. We always knew the Polish were going to be strong with international team representatives in their side. I’m sure they will be contesting for the final few places come tomorrow. We are disappointed not to have beaten Geneva, as we feel we are at their level if not above. But it was just not to be today."

The next competitive day was Friday 22 July, with the doubles competition getting underway at 9am. Imperial’s first paring Justin and Guillamue were given a tough draw against one of the Russian seeds and Darius and Alex (second pairing) received a similarly tough draw against a seeded Polish pair. Despite a brave effort from both pairings, neither progressed to the next round and the players were left to reflect upon the little details that meant the difference in winning and losing the crucial points. Alex McCaffery (Club Captain) said:

"Our match was interesting. We found ourselves competing well in the long rallies but struggled with the short technical side of the game, in particular return of serves. Their serves and returns were just so much better than most that we have faced in the UK. It has been a big learning experience for us all."

The week ended with the singles competition and with a favourable draw for all Imperial players, avoiding any seeded players. The day started optimistically and everyone felt confident of at least winning their first round matches. Unfortunately Darius and Alex could not break their first round duck, bowing out against representatives from Cyprus and Germany respectively. Elsewhere in the draw Guillaume, Patrick and Justin all made it through their first round matches and were then matched against some of the tournaments strongest players. Patrick and Guillamue both found it hard going and lost out to representatives from Russia and the host institution Madeira. Attention and support then shifted to Justin’s match against one of the University of Kazan’s players. Despite a very strong start, Justin could not maintain his momentum and the Russian clawed his way back into the match and eventually beat Justin in the deciding set to secure a place on the last 16.

Despite some disappointment, Justin said he enjoyed the experience.

“I started really well. I even started to think about the next round as I was finding it that comfortable! I was a little annoyed not to be going through to the next round, but this has been a brilliant experience for me and I really want to be at these championships next year to prove I can go further."

Despite the team not coming away with any silverware, Sport Imperial’s Sports Development Officer Anthony Hennelly, who accompanied the team for the week, was pleased overall. 

“The experience has been great for the lads. They played individuals and teams here who are of a level well above what they have faced in the UK this year. There are full internationals here this week and one guy who is ranked 45 in the world! Despite not winning any medals, the guys have shown a positive attitude and have given their all. Moreover, this has given them a taste for European competition and they all want to work hard and be back again next year. We have got to remember that this has been a great year for IC Table Tennis and this is the first time we have qualified for these championships. I am confident the team will have another strong year in BUCS and we will be with Europe’s elite again next year at the EUSA championships”.

The week culminated with the closing ceremony at the University of Madeira, where a good evening was had by all. The friendly atmosphere between all participants and organisers sent the Imperial team home happy and looking forward to next season!

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