Press Reports 2024/25

18 November 2024

In division 1 of the Reading League this week, it was a case of three convincing victories and one close encounter. Leaders Kingfisher B had a 9-1 home win against Sonning Common & Peppard B with Julian Telford and Jordan Huang unbeaten, but Jacek Piechocki lost his 100% record since transferring from division 3, narrowly losing out to Jon Abbott. Chasers Kingfisher A were largely untroubled against their C team to complete a 10-0 whitewash thanks to Rishaan Sawant, Hari Gehlot and Ross Saxby. Sonning Common & Peppard A were without Dan Moses and lost some ground but still managed a 6-4 win over Kingfisher E. Only Gary Morgan was unbeaten as Sashwat Somani mounted a significant challenge, beating both Ed Lush and Jason Roberts. Meanwhile, Sonning Sports A were at full strength for the first time as Robert Hansell and Dave Croucher eased to maximums over Kingfisher D, with Graham Diplock adding a useful double to make it 9-1.

In the first of only two matches in division 2 this week, Tilehurst RBL B and Kingfisher I shared the points in a 5-5 draw. Kate Maksimenko again recorded a maximum for Tilehurst but she was taken to five by Eyup Odemis. In the set of the night Tilehurst’s CJ Choong recovered from two games down to beat Muharrem Aydin 11-6 in the fifth. In the Tidmarsh derby the B team beat a weakened C team 9-1. Sayali Bendkhale played well for the C team and was unlucky to only win once just losing out in five to both Bill Stamatiou and Mike Alstrop.

The Division 3 promotion race is getting more intense week by week. Our Lady Of Peace C continues to dominate at the top of the table, sitting comfortably with an 11-point lead. However, the battle for second place is very competitive, with Pangbourne WMC, Sonning Sports B, and Sonning Common & Peppard D all tied at 47 points. The week started with a 5-5 draw between Kingfisher J and OLOP D. Cihan Celik's treble for Kingfisher J was countered by strong performances from Patrick McIntosh and James Smith of OLOP. Sonning Common & Peppard E delivered a commanding 9-1 victory over Sonning Sports C. Oliver Bonser and Gerry Bacon achieved trebles, while Mike Casserley added two wins. Our Lady of Peace C dominated Tilehurst Methodists A with a perfect 10-0 scoreline. Daniel Dzieciol, Graham Stark, and Mark Carless all secured trebles in a flawless team performance. Wednesday saw Pangbourne WMC secure an 8-2 victory over Tilehurst Methodists B. Clive Taylor’s treble led the way, supported by strong contributions from Aleksey Mokhov and John Simmonds. Tilehurst Methodists B managed to claim two points through Steve Christelow's efforts. The week concluded on Thursday with another 5-5 draw, this time between Sonning Sports B and Sonning Common & Peppard D. Brett Hastings and Tim Challender contributed key wins for Sonning Sports B, while Jim Warren and Jeremy Willis were pivotal for Sonning Common and Peppard D.

Finally to division 4 where Our lady of Peace F were host to the league leaders Springfield B in a great match resulting in a draw. The star of the match was Abhishek Saraf for OLOP with a maximum  and doubles win with Anish Shukul, who was very unlucky to lose 2 of his games 13 - 11 in the 5^th. Robert Atack and Steve O`Connor won two each for Springfield. Two 10-0 wins in a row for Tilehurst RBL C put them in 4th place the latest win over Sonning Sports E maximum for Paul Treadgold, Jim Brent and Geoff Johnson while second place Kingfisher L had a 7 - 3 home win over their K team with Pehej Vig’s sixth maximum. Third place OLOP E enjoyed a close 6 - 4 win over Sonning Common and Peppard F thanks to a maximum from Pat Daniels. The last match of the week saw a draw between Sonning Sports D and Springfield C, who can thank Richard Sabberton-Coe for his maximum. The doubles was something else in this match which ended in favour of Sports 11-3, 15-13, 9-11, 10-12,16-14.

11 November 2024

Tight at the Top

In the Reading and District Table Tennis League Division 1, Kingfisher B stayed ahead of their rivals pushing aside Sonning Sports A 8-2 with Vince Nemes and Jacek Piechocki expectedly gaining their maximums. However, having played one less match, both chasers Sonning Common & Peppard A and Kingfisher A were able to gain ground as they both enjoyed 10-0 victories against Tidmarsh A and Kingfisher D respectively. Kingfisher C recovered to a midtable position as they overcame their E team 8-2, Harry Yeates winning a fine maximum including a great performance over previously undefeated Shashwat Somani.

In division 2 early season leaders Springfield A lost 7-3 at home to Tilehurst RBL B with Kate Maksimenko getting another maximum. Springfield reserve Ludo Couillard had a fine win against Nick Lean recovering from two games down to win 11-7 in the fifth.

Promotion favourites SC&P C also had to field a reserve and could only manage a draw at Kingfisher G. Kingfisher’s Abhay Gore had a notable win in four against Simon Berry, the first time Simon has lost this season. Surprise promotion contenders Kingfisher I had another fine result beating a weakened Tidmarsh C 9-1 with maximums for Akeel Mir and Eyup Odemis. OLOP A beat Kingfisher H 7-3 with OLOP skipper Alistair Richardson getting a good maximum. OLOP B and Tidmarsh B drew 5-5 with the highlight set being Francois Durand beating Pradeep Desh 11-7 in the fifth.

Division 3 action is back with some close and intense match-ups after one week's break for the cup matches. Sonning Common and Peppard D narrowly defeated Pangbourne WMC with a 6-4 win. Jim Warren and Anthony Reeve both secured two victories, while John Simmonds achieved a treble for Pangbourne WMC. On the same night Tilehurst Methodists A faced a tough match against Sonning Sports B, resulting in a 9-1 loss. Tim Challender's treble led the way for Sonning Sports B, with strong support from Brett Hastings and Grant Baartman. Tuesday saw Our Lady of Peace C dominate Sonning Common and Peppard E with a resounding 9-1 victory. Graham Stark and Mark Carless both completed trebles, with Gopi Ponnappalli contributing two more wins. In the final match of the week, Tilehurst Methodists B won over Our Lady of Peace D with a 7-3 scoreline. Nigel Rowland’s treble was key, supported by Martin Wetherell’s two wins, securing a well-deserved victory for Tilehurst team. Nigel showed resilience as he won all his matches in the fifth and deciding game.

Finally to division 4. Sonning Sports E met Sonning Common & Peppard F where David Riddle scored a comfortable maximum for the commoners to earn a 5-5 draw.

The first of the 10-0’s saw Springfield C whitewashed by Kingfisher L with Antinc Erguven, Noah Reid and Pehej Vig all gaining maximum points. The second was for unbeaten Springfield B as Robert Atack, Benson Shin and Marcello Caramma failed to drop a single end over Sonning Sports D. Finally Tilehurst RBL C gained maximum points as Paul Treadgold, Linda King and Jim Brent excelled, although Adi Kapoor was unlucky to lose to Paul 13-11 in the fifth and deciding game.

28 October 2024

Top-of-the-Table Clashes

In division 1 of the Reading and District table tennis league, this week saw two top-of-the-table clashes as the four title contenders faced each other. Current leaders Kingfisher B brought out their two main stars, Vince Nemes and, making his debut, Mircea Neagu, to see off champions Kingfisher A 7-3. Only Martin Adams and Hari Gehlot could get on the scorecard for the A team, winning over Ewelina Sychta and combining to earn the doubles point. Later in the week Sonning Common & Peppard A earnt a hard-fought draw at home against a young Kingfisher F side. Daniel Moses secured a comfortable maximum for the hosts. Ian Cole also pitched in with an excellent win over Theo Kniep, pushing Ryan Chung to 9-11 in the fifth and combining with Daniel to earn the extra doubles point. Prayrit Ahluwalia and Ryan Chung won two each for the visitors.  Elsewhere, Kingfisher C sneaked a useful 6-4 home win over Tidmarsh A with both Nigel Keedy and Pallavi Urankar remaining unbeaten.  

On to division 2, where another top-of-the-table clash saw promotion favourites Sonning Common & Peppard C just edge out current leaders Springfield A 6-4 with Simon Berry getting a very impressive three straight maximum for the Commoners. Tidmarsh B had a hard-fought 6-4 win against bottom of the table Kingfisher G with the tightest set of the night being Simon Barter’s 11-9 in the fifth victory over Ian Clothier. The third 6-4 scoreline of the week saw Tilehurst RBL B win at Kingfisher H with another maximum for Kate Maksimenko. The set of the night saw Kingfisher’s Glen Armas hula come from behind to beat CJ Choong 11-9 in the fifth.

In Division 3, Our Lady of Peace C narrowly defeated Pangbourne WMC 6-4. Daniel Dzieciol's two wins were crucial, while Clive Taylor managed two victories for Pangbourne. Elsewhere, Sonning Common and Peppard D dominated Kingfisher J with a 9-1 victory. Jeremy Willis, Ian Davenport, and Anthony Reeve each achieved trebles, demonstrating a commanding performance.  Tuesday saw Tidmarsh D triumph over Our Lady of Peace D with a 7-3 scoreline. This was their first win of the season. Dave Edwards led the charge with a treble, while Harry Bullock secured two wins for Our Lady of Peace D.

Our Lady of Peace C claimed a 6-4 victory over Sonning Sports C. Daniel Dzieciol and Mark Carless each secured two wins, while James Miller fought hard for Sonning Sports C with two victories of his own. Pangbourne WMC showcased a strong performance, winning 8-2 against Tilehurst Methodists A. John Simmonds achieved a treble, supported by two wins each from Aleksey Mokhov and Leroy Wilson. In the week’s final match, Sonning Sports B securied a 7-3 win over Sonning Common and Peppard E. Tim Challender led with a treble, supported by two wins from Harry Brough and James Miller. 

Now Division 4 which started with a very convincing win for Our Lady of Peace F team 10-0 win over Sonning Sports E with maximum wins for Abhishek Saraf, Krishiv Shukul and Anish Shukul.

Then the match of the week between as-yet unbeaten Kingfisher L and Springfield B. It was Springfield who found form with a 7-3 win to keep their unbeaten run going. Robert Atack, Benson Shiu and Marcello Caramma all gained two but the player of the night was Pehej Vig for Kingfisher L with his fouth maximum of the season, currently sitting on 12 out 12.

Our Lady of Peace E scored a 6-4 home win over Kingfisher K although no player remained unbeaten. Emrah Bulut and Walter Aldridge for Kingfisher K and Pat Daniels and Fitz Licorish all scored two. Sonning Sports D hosted a strong Tilehurst RBL C lineup consisting of Geoff Johnson and Jim Brent, collecting a maximum each, and John Walker collecting the other 2 points, 2-8 being the final scoreline.

21 October 2024

In a packed week in the Reading League Division 1, ahead of their clash with Kingfisher A next week, leaders Kingfisher B maintained their winning record against Kingfisher E with Julian Telford and Jordon Huang gaining maximums. The young chasers from Kingfisher F maintained their challenge with two 7-3 victories, firstly pushing aside Kingfisher C following an earlier postponement where Theo Kniep remained unbeaten, and next versus Sonning Common and Peppard B where his sister Chloe, Sam Kwok and Heilam Tse all won two each, but none of them could defeat Danny Dockree who enjoyed an excellent evening from an individual standpoint.

Sonning Common and Peppard A whitewashed Kingfisher C 10-0 with Dan Moses, Ian Cole and Ed Lush inflicting the damage. Mike Childs showed great form for Kingfisher D as he took three away to Tidmarsh but could not avoid a 4-6 defeat while Kate Maksimenko stepped up once again to score an excellent maximum for Tilehurst RBL A against Sonning Sports A.

In Division 2, early season leaders Springfield A had another win, but only by 6-4, against a weakened Tidmarsh B team. Skipper Jason King recorded a maximum for Springfield including a 11-9 in the fifth comeback win over Barry Carter. Second placed Kingfisher I drew with OLOP B with Muharrem Aydin gaining an excellent maximum for Kingfisher.

Pre-season favourites Sonning Common and Peppard C had a very good 7-3 win at OLOP A with Simon Berry getting a maximum, although he needed a deciding fifth set against Dave Godfrey.

Kingfisher G and Tidmarsh C drew 5-5 with Ian Clothier getting a maximum for Kingfisher which included two very long sets which went to five including beating Richard Hudson 16-14 in the decider. Tilehurst RBL B beat Kingfisher H 6-4 with yet another maximum for Kate Maksimenko.

For Division 3, week five was another week of exciting matches, Sonning Common and Peppard D cruised to a 9-1 victory over Tilehurst Methodists B. Jim Warren, Jeremy Willis, and Ian Davenport each secured trebles for the home side. Only point for Tilehurst Methodists B came from doubles game which ended in fifth: 11-6, 9-11, 11-5, 10-12, 1-11.  Kingfisher J came out on top with a 7-3 win against Tilehurst Methodists A. The trio of Neil Abbott, Huseyin Cihan Celik and Walter Aldridge chipped in with two wins each. Jes Eassom put up a valiant effort for Tilehurst Methodists A with two wins of his own, but it wasn’t enough to overturn the Kingfisher team’s dominance.

Pangbourne WMC took a commanding 8-2 victory over Sonning Common and Peppard E although the home team was one player short, making the away team’s job easier. Graeme Streets managed to secure both of the points for the commoners. On the same evening OLOP C fought off Sonning Sports B with a 6-4 win. Daniel Dzieciol was instrumental in this victory with a treble, while Simon Brookes added two wins. The week's final match saw Our Lady of Peace D edge out Sonning Sports C with a 6-4 win despite James Miller’s excellent treble for Sports. James Smith, Patrick McIntosh and Alona Slobodskoy completed the team victory all winning two each.

With all ten division 4 teams in action this week, Our Lady of Peace F lost at home 3-7 to Sonning Sports D, winning their first match of the season following a John Scott maximum, ably supported by Mike Gautrey and Peter Evans each collecting two wins.

Kingfisher K against Sonning Common & Peppard F ended 7-3 in favour of Kingfisher. Mick Mitcham, Walter Aldridge and Houron Tsun all picked up 2 wins but David Riddle was too good for all of them winning all three. Derek Wavell was very unlucky to lose to Mick 12-10, 11-13, 13-11, 7-11, 11-9!

Springfield C lost 3-7 at home to Our Lady of Peace E with yet another maximum for Fitz Licorish helping to keep them on top of the division having played five with 35 points.  Yet another 3-7 ensued at Tilehurst RBL C as they hosted Kingfisher L. Pehej Vig and Atinc Erguven scored maximums for the visitors to maintain the team’s unbeaten start to the season.

Finally Springfield B scored a convincing 9 - 1 win over Sonning Sports E and are looking like challengers to win the division having  played four and won four. Robert Atack and Ludovic Couillard collected maximums.

Watch this space next week as two unbeaten teams Kingfisher L and Springfield B face each other.

14 October 2024

In Division 1 marginal leaders Kingfisher B with the trio of Vince Nemes, Julian Telford and Jordan Huang whitewashed Tidmarsh A despite a couple of sets going the distance. Chasers Kingfisher A also enjoyed a comfortable victory over Tilehurst RBL A with Hari Gehlot and Rishaan Sawant in a starring role, although Keith Winter turned over Dmitry Khakhamov in straight sets. To his frustration Jon Willis spurned several match points against Dmitry, the final match score 1-9.

Elsewhere Jon Abbott helped chalk up a first 7-3 win for Sonning Common and Peppard B with a fine maximum over Sonning Sports A, while their A team of Ed Lush, Jason Roberts and Gary Morgan ensured a 9-1 over Kingfisher E whose sole victory came from the bat of Simon Rowland with a fine performance against Gary.

In division 2 Springfield A maintained their good start to the season with excellent 8-2 win over Tidmarsh C with maximums for Jason King and Mat Hickman.

SC&P C and Tilehurst RBL B drew 5-5 with SC&P’s Malcolm Gregory doing very well to recover from two games down to beat CJ Choong 11-8 in the fifth despite struggling with an injury

Tidmarsh B’s difficult start to the season continued as they lost 9-1 to OLOP A in a match that saw many sets go to four or five including Francois Durand losing to Darek Kaminski 12-14 in the fifth. OLOP B beat Kingfisher G 6-4 with the highlight set being Kingfisher skipper Andrew Adair recovering from two games down to beat Pradeep Desh 11-9 in the fifth. In the Kingfisher derby the I team just edged out the H team 6-4 despite Glen Armashula’s fine maximum for the H team.

On to Division 3 where week four delivered some exciting and closely fought matches and high-margin wins. On Monday, Kingfisher J hosted Sonning Common and Peppard E and drew 5-5. Neil Abbott was the player of the night with a superb treble for Kingfisher J, while Graeme Streets contributed important two  wins for Sonning Common and Peppard E. However, the away team had to win the closely battled doubles game to level the match. Sonning Common and Peppard D dominated their match against Tidmarsh D with a 9-1 victory. Jim Warren and Ian Davenport both secured trebles, while Anthony Reeve added two more wins. The sole win for Tidmarsh came from Terry Hardie, but overall, it was a comprehensive performance from the visiting side.

Wednesday's action saw Tilehurst Methodists B and Tilehurst Methodists A share the points in another 5-5 draw. Steve Christelow stood out for Tilehurst Methodists B with his treble, supported by his teammate Martin Wetherell, while Phil Jones contributed two wins for Tilehurst Methodists A in a closely contested match. The final match of the week saw the Sonning Sports derby, in which the B team claimed an emphatic 9-1 win over the C team. Brett Hastings and Harry Brough both completed trebles while Arun Rajagopal added two wins. Sonning Sports C's only point came from Cris Reynolds, but they were unable to stop the dominant clubmates.

There were only three matches this week in division 4, all being played on Wednesday. Sonning Common & Peppard F hosted Springfield C and they were on form with a 9-1 win, David Riddle and Alistair Scott with maximums and Derek Wavell collecting two. The sole point for Springfield C went to Adele Ireland. To Kingfisher, where the L team took on OLOP F and acheieved a creditable draw. The star was Pehej  Vig with a maximum and Atinc Erguven collecting two but the doubles went to OLOP F pair Abhishek Saraf and Anish Shukul with a straight win 11-2, 11-5 and 11-8.

The last match of the week was top of the table clash where OLOP E lost 4 - 6 to Springfield B. It was a tight affair with only three encounters were won in three straight sets. Steve O`Connor was the stand-out performer with a maximum beating Pat Daniels 5-11, 12-10, 10-12, 11-9 12-10!

7 October 2024

The Arrival of Nemes

Title Contenders Sonning Common & Peppard A finally got their season underway, but their top player Dan Moses succumbed to the new arrival of Vince Nemes, representing Kingfisher B. The Hungarian is relatively new to the area and is the new class-player of the league, helping to earn a 4-6 win. Coupled with Ewelina Sychta, who also took out Gary Morgan and Ian Cole, their whole squad is a force to be reckoned with.

Kingfisher A hosted a comfortable victory against Sonning Common & Peppard B although perfection was not achieved as Tom Astle scored a point for the visitors as he outperformed Dmitry Khakhamov. Kingfisher E maintained their excellent start to the season with a third straight victory, this time at the mercy of Tilehurst RBL A. Adrian Cretu and Shashwat Somani both scoring maximums in their 8-2 home win. Prayrit Ahluwalia and Theo Kniep also sealed a Kingfisher victory as the F team overcame an under-strength Sonning Sports A team 7-3, despite forfeiting their third player points.

To division Two and Springfield A had a hard fought 6-4 win over a an OLOP B team boosted by the signing of Dave Sanket, who contributed a fine maximum which included comeback wins against Jason King and Mat Hickman. OLOP A had a good 7-3 victory against Tidmarsh C with Chris West getting a maximum and only dropping one game in the process. OLOP skipper Alistair Richardson had a fine comeback win in five against Sayali Bendkhale.

Elsewhere Tilehurst RBL B put last week’s heavy defeat behind them to beat Tidmarsh B 6-4 with Kate Maksimenko getting her customary maximum. The set of the night saw Tilehurst’s new signing CJ Choong recover from two games down to beat Mike Alstrop 11-8 in the fifth. Kingfisher I suffered their second heavy defeat of the season losing 9-1 to Kingfisher G in a match that was a bit closer than the scoreline suggests and which featured two extraordinary sets. In the first of these the G team’s Akeel Mir came back from losing the first two games to Neil Dellar 14-16, 10-12 before winning in five. In the other set Muharrem Aydin beat the I team captain Andre Adair in a marathon with the final game finishing 19-17 in his favour.

In Division 3, week 3 featured some highly competitive matches. Sonning Common and Peppard D took on OLOP D, with the away team edging out a 6-4 victory. Jeremy Willis was the standout for Sonning Common and Peppard D, contributing two points, but Harry Bullock and Patrick McIntosh each secured two victories for OLOP D to seal the win. The key moment came in the doubles, with Bullock and McIntosh pairing up to take the match. The same evening saw Tilehurst Methodists A face Tidmarsh D, resulting in another 6-4 win for the away side. Ray Webb’s treble for Tidmarsh D was important, supported by his teammates Dave Edwards and Chris Webb, while Jes Eassom picked up two points for Tilehurst Methodists A. Ray Webb’s performance was undoubtedly the highlight of the match, steering Tidmarsh D to victory. 

Sonning Common and Peppard E lost a tightly contested match 4-6 to Tilehurst Methodists B despite Gerry Bacon’s treble for the home side, Patrick O’Sullivan and Steve Christelow each contributed hard-fought wins to secure the away victory. The final match of the week saw OLOP C claim a 7-3 win over Kingfisher J. Simon Brookes was the star of the show securing his treble, combined with two from Daniel Dzieciol who only lost out to Neil Abbott.

NB There is no report for Div 4 this week.

29 September 2024

l to r - Kingfisher A (Dmitry Khakamov, Martin Adams, Hari Gehlot) win 8-2 over Sonning Sports A (Bob Woodmansee, Nick Sears, Robert Hansell)

Into the second week of the season of the Reading and District Table Tennis League and Kingfisher B continued their winning ways with a 6-4 Victory over their C team. They showed the strength of their squad with a different three than last week. It was Ewelina Sychta and Jacek Piechocki who impressed in staying unbeaten. Similarly ,the young squad of Kingfisher F looked completely different to last week when they beat the champions, but still managed a second straight win, this time against Kingfisher D, 7-3 with Aarav Pahwa being the only unbeaten player on the night.

Kingfisher A returned to winning ways in a match which saw the debut of Bucks star player, Robert Hansell, representing Sonning Sports A. He managed to win over two leading playera in Hari Gehlot and Dmitry Khakamov, but could not get the better of friend and British League colleague, Martin Adams, as Kingfisher ran out 8-2 winners.

Elsewhere Kate Maksimenko played up from division 2 for Tilehurst RBL A and comfortably outscored her colleagues, remining unbeaten and helping to secure a 6-4 victory over Tidmarsh A. Kingfisher E made it two wins out of two as Shashwat Somani scored an impressive maximum on his division 1 debut at Sonning Common & Peppard B.

Now to Division 2, where title favourites Sonning Common & Peppard C had an impressive 9-1 win over Kingfisher H with Holly Ranson getting a good maximum in her first match back after a number of years out of the game. Another of the pre-season promotion favourites Kingfisher G suffered an unexpected 10-0 defeat against Springfield A, although with all but two of the sets going to four or five the match was a bit closer than the score suggests.

Meanwhile, A closely fought OLOP derby saw OLOP A and OLOP B share the points  in a 5-5 draw. B team captain Binit Bhaskar had a very good comeback win against Darek Kaminski winning 13-11 in the fifth. After a good win in week one Tilehurst RBL B came down to earth with a 9-1 defeat against an impressive Tidmarsh C side with all their players getting maximums. The highlight set saw Simon Craig recover from two games down to beat John Willcocks 11-8 in the fifth.

To Division 4 now and Tilehurst RBL C started their season with a 7-3 win at Sonning Common & Peppard F, Paul Treadgold, John Walker and Geoff Johnson winning 2 each for Tilehurst - but David Riddle of Sonning was just too good for all of them with a maximum. Another team who started this week were Kingfisher L taking two juniors to Sonning Sports E, coming away with a healthy 8 - 2 win with both juniors Noah Reid (14 years old )and Pehej Vig (just 12) winning all 3 matches and the doubles 11 - 5 in the fifth with captain Sue Parker collecting the other point.

There was a creditable 6 - 4 win for Springfield C at Kingfisher K with the trio of Richard Sabberton-Coe, Shas Veeramani and Paul Martin winning 2 each - but Mick Mitcham for Kingfisher was on good form with a maximum winning all three in straight games and then teaming up with Moto Mitcham (his wife) to win the doubles. The game of the evening was Paul Martin beating Moto Mitcham 13-11 in the fifth. Finally OLOP E were at home to their F team with the hosts following up their 10-0 last week with a 7-3 and sit top the division 4 table with 17 points  Fitz Licorish was the player of the the match with his second maximum in the second week.

(NB Div 3 section was late for press)

21st September 2024

Changing of the TT Guard!

What an opening week in Division 1 where we witnessed a pivotal moment as the juniors of Kingfisher F defeated the old-guard champions Kingfisher A, their first defeat in several seasons, 6-4! Theo Kniep led the way with reasonably comfortable victories over Hari Gehlot, Dmitry Khakamov and Martin Adams (who was their only opponent to get the better of Prayrit Ahluwalia).

It's Kingfisher B who set the early pace with a 9-1 win over Kingfisher D, although the scoreline flattered somewhat as many encounters went the distance and Simon Rowland who, despite pushing Graham Mendick aside, was unfortunate to spurn several match points against both Julian Telford and Jordan Huang, who ended the night (close to midnight) unbeaten. 

Elsewhere Tidmarsh A hosted Sonning Common & Peppard B to end in a 5-5 draw, Lee Calcutt starring for the hosts with a maximum. Danny Dockree and Jon Abbott joined forces for the visitors to take two each plus the doubles.  Newly promoted Clive Gold, Adrian Cretu and Wayne Alleyne, representing Kingfisher E, will be delighted with their opening 6-4 home victory against Sonning Sports A,all contributing two each, although none of them could trouble Dave Croucher.

Only three Division 2 matches took place in the opening week. Kingfisher H took on a Tidmarsh B team who were forced to field a reserve and the outcome was a 5-5 draw. Tidmarsh’s Bill Stamatiou recorded a good maximum including recovering from two games down to beat Glen Armashula 12-10 in the fifth. Glen and Nikhil Kulkarni both won twice for the Kingfisher side.

Newly promoted OLOP B suffered and 8-2 defeat at Tilehurst RBL B with both Kate Maksimenko and John Willcocks getting maximums. Skipper Binit Bhasker was the only singles winner for OLOP beating Tilehurst debutant CJ Choong in four. The other promoted side Kingfisher I had an impressive 7-3 win at Springfield A with Akeel Mir getting a very good three straight maximum. Mat Hickman picked up two good wins for Springfield.

(NB reports not available for Div 3 and Div 4 this week)

Pre-Season  - 16th September 2024

Table Tennis Returns!

The Reading and District Table Tennis league kicks off this week for the 101^st season.

Again formed of four divisions with a total of 42 teams competing, centenary champions Kingfisher A will be looking to defend their Division 1 title, but their previously winning combination of Hari Gehlot, Martin Adams, Ross Saxby, Dmitry Khakamov and Rishaan Sawant is unlikely to have it all their own way with fierce competition from a number of sources. Sonning Common & Peppard are represented by two teams and will again field our leading local player, Daniel Moses, while Sonning Sports A have signed Buckinghamshire star Robert Hansell and, alongside his fellow county player Dave Croucher, will prove the toughest of encounters for most of their opposition. The young talents of Theo Kniep, Prayrit Ahluwalia and Ryan Chung have joined forces to form one of five further Kingfisher sides. Any evening this trio plays together promises an ominous prospect for their opponents including an opening night clash with Kingfisher A. Entries from Tidmarsh and Tilehurst Royal British Legion complete the lineup.

Division 2 looks to be as competitive as it has been for the last two seasons with a large number of closely matched teams. The pre-season favourites appear to be Sonning Common and Peppard C, who will be looking to bounce back from last season’s relegation, and Kingfisher H. Last season’s third place finishers Tidmarsh B have lost their top player to their Division 1 side so they may not do so well this time around. Perennial third/fourth place finishes OLOP A have the same squad as last year so they could easily challenge for a place in the top two.

Division 3 could also go the distance with the majority of clubs represented, while in division 4 the teams to watch out for could be Springfield B (finished in 3rd place last season) lead by Robert Atack, Ludovic Couillard, Marcello Caramma, Steve O`Connor and Benson Shiu and Tilehurst RBL C (finished in 4th place last time) lead by Linda King, Geoff Johnson, Paul Treadgold, Jim Brent and John Walker.

The Reading League Committee would like to wish all players and supporters a successful and enjoyable 2024-25 season.