Table Tennis Report 1-07-08

 Watto played host to the resumption of the consistently-enthralling DAFF Grad Table Tennis Tournament over the weekend. With the TT Roadshow moving back to the North (after the previous week’s Southside finale), table-toppin’ Tuck looked far more comfortable playing on the higher table (and breathing the cleaner air) of Watto. In fact, were it not for the stunning competition entry of journeyman wildcard Ben Exton, Tuck’s tremendous effort to confirm his No. 1 status with a convincing shut-out of challengers Shepherdson and Lee would easily be the biggest story from the weekend. However, as it is, Exton – whose rise to TT prominence is a tremendous story – proved the figure to capture the hearts and minds of the capacity crowd packed in to the Watto Athletic Stadium.

Thriving in the Watto sunshine, Exton (who was only granted tournament entry as a wildcard after perennial choker Darren Southwell was a late withdrawal) immediately showed the raw talent he possesses with victory over a struggling Josh Francis. From there Exton fought respectably against the experienced pair of Shepherdson and Lee (though he failed to defeat either) and, after squandering big leads in each of their earlier matches, sent shockwaves through the competition with a resounding 21-13 defeat of the previously undefeated Tuck. Tuck, who for most of the day had shone brighter than the Watto sun in accumulating a stunning 9-1 win-loss record (including a 2-1 defeat of the classy Exton), was moved to compliment the previously unknown tyro on his promising display.

“Yeah Exton done pretty good,” Tuck said. “He played good, played tough.

“He was harder to beat than either Lee or ‘Shepho’ today,” Tuck continued. “But, in the end, he did only beat me in a dead rubber. It’s important we all remember that.”

Table Tennis Match Report 18.06.08

 Last night’s table tennis tournament, the final ever to be played in the Deep South, was a hard fought and entertaining affair. With the tournament featuring BullK9, Southwell, Lee and, in-form no. 1 Tuck, there was always going to be fireworks. Initially, things went as expected, with Lee and Tuck each victorious over Southsiders Southwell and BullK9, however, in the initial clash of the titans, Lee reclaimed some lost lustre with a surprising and hard-fought victory over a struggling Tuck. From there things really got crazy, as Southwell (having earlier given a predictable display of textbook choking in each of his clashes with Lee and Tuck) began working the angles on the court to perfection. Catching Lee, and later Tuck, wrong-footed on numerous occasions, Southwell showed undeniable skill and a new ability to close out a close match with successive victories over the two top-ranked players.

The tournament ended with Tuck playing successive matches against challengers Lee and Southwell, the first of which was where a barnstorming Lee who showed he is nearing a return to his imposing best. In racing to an emphatic 14-6 lead Lee showed his booming forehand (the lone pupil) and pugnacious backhand have lost none of their danger, but Tuck’s courage could never be doubted. Fighting an admitted slump in form, Tuck dragged himself back into the challenge on pure grit and determination – in the process showing that true champions get by on more than just exhilarating natural ability. While having allowed Tuck to get the score back to 20-18, Lee lived up to his former ‘Ice Man’ moniker by closing the match out with an unplayable lone pupil slap. Lee is no within a whisker of reclaiming his No. 1 status.

The final match saw Tuck and Southwell playing off for individual honours, with Tuck determined to deny Southwell bragging rights (something which had seemed inconceivable just hours earlier). Punching and counter-punching, much like Cronulla five-eighth Greg Bird on a night out in the Shire, the two warriors produced an epic display which eventually ended in Tuck reigning supreme and proving that some things will never change.

Table Tennis Weekly spoke to Tuck after the game.

‘Yeah, Streps played good tonight,’ said Tuck. ‘But, you know, I played better.’

Lost Table Tennis Report

Whether due to modesty or a busy few days at work (I no longer recall which) no Table Tennis reports were written between 10/6/8 and 18/6/8, a week in which Canberra Table Tennis was turned upside down with Craig Tuck (me) managing to dethrone Dave Lee and claim the number 1 ranking. This was done, from memory, through winning consecutive post-work showdowns 2-1 and an epic weekend duel 4-2. In the interests of linear presentation, this brief explanatory post is a necessary inclusion in these ongoing Table Tennis chronicles.

Table Tennis Match Report 10/06/08

Hello all table tennis fans, I hope the weekend was as good to each of you as it was to the sport of table tennis. The past two days have seen some of the best table tennis imagineable. Playing on the unfamiliar Watto Outdoor Table Tennis Court, D Lee, C Tuck and Mt. J have for the past two days reached a level of table tennis that will take some surpassing. Tuck, having not beaten Lee since the early weeks of the competition (way back when Southwell could still be taken seriously as a challenger), made history on Sunday when he handed Lee his first ever series defeat. The best-of-five series was won 3-2 by Tuck and in one game featured the scarcely believable scoreline of 21-5 in Tuck’s favour.

However, like any true champion, Lee fought back hard on Monday, taking out an epic best-of-fifteen series 8-4. The series, which had earlier been locked up at 4-all, was played out under failing light in the overcast conditions of Monday afternoon, and Lee’s strokeplay proved to be the only shining light amid the gloomy surrounds.

Played outdoors, using a pink ball, this was table tennis for the future: slashing strokeplay, rallies that refused to end, heart-pumping thrillers, pain, frustration and, ultimately, glory for Lee. While this could have been the beginning of a new era in table tennis, some things refused to change. Congratulations Lee, but know this: the gap…is…closing.

Table Tennis Report – 28/05/07

 In what was probably the final table tennis tournament to be played in Dylan’s lounge room, Dave Lee was once again the dominant performer. Destroying walls and egos alike with an approach bordering on brutality, Lee stretched his unbeaten run out to an impressive 15 games and, in the process, more than likely sent Darren Southwell home a distraught, withered, shell of a man.

While Lee’s continued dominance is a tremendous story—one the crowd respectfully acknowledged—the emerging North Watto rivalry between Dylan Shepherdson and Craig Tuck was the true story to emerge from last night’s competition. Clashing in eight gruelling contests throughout the evening, the two fierce rivals produced some of the finest table tennis ever seen on the hallowed floors of the North Watto Table Tennis Arena. The tragedy of the night was that this contest was continually interrupted by the ‘rotating contender’ policy, which allowed even the likes of Southwell equal time at the table. Thankfully Southwell exited the arena soon after his desperate plea of ‘Josh, come back!’ was heard echoing through the halls; this exit resulted in arguably the biggest cheer of the night from the capacity crowd (who were more than aware that this would allow for the recommencement of the Shepherdson-Tuck showdown).

Punching and counter-punching, much like falsely-imprisoned boxing icon Rubin ’Hurricane’ Carter, Shepherdson and Tuck drove each other to the point of exhaustion in an enthralling contest that spanned three consecutive games. The victorious Tuck, whose forehand was ‘on fire’, according to undefeated champion Lee (who stayed on to watch the battle), spoke to Table Tennis Weekly after the game.

‘Yep, I’m no. 2 now,’ Tuck said. ‘I’m heaps better than Southwell, which we established weeks ago, but am also now clearly better than ‘Shepho’.

‘Lee is my new target,’ he continued, ‘then…retirement.’

While the crowd groaned each time ‘punch drunk’ Southwell took to the table, the brilliant table tennis provided by each of the other athletes made the night a complete success, and ensured there will be many more in the future (though perhaps with more stringent entry requirements).