Hussain is the star at table tennis festival
Morpeth School in Bethnal Green flew the flag for Tower Hamlets at the second annual Youth Club Table Tennis festival last week.
The event, run by London Youth in partnership with Table Tennis England and the Jack Petchey Foundation, was held in the school and featured 73 youngsters from Camden, Hackney, Lambeth, Lewisham, Newham, Redbridge, Southwark and the home borough.
Matches were played on a round-robin basis, progressing to semis, a bronze medal match and a final and the Tower Hamlets foursome fought their way through in style.
The winner of the boys’ under-14 event was Ikram Hussain, 12 who beat his good friend and schoolmate Abdul Rakib, 13, in the final as they claimed gold and silver.
Hussain has been playing for three years and he was in two minds about his final victory.
“This was a good competition. I won all my games and in the final it was hard to beat my pal Abdul. I won 13-11 and I don’t think he was happy!”
Rakib said: “I won all my games except the final. I like the competition and you get to play different people.”
Also in action from the Morpeth School was Yasna Hawbash, 13, who won the girls’ under-14 event, beating off competition from Haringey and then Southwark in the final.
May Tran, 15, completed the home players as she beat opposition from Lambeth and Haringey before losing out in the final of the girls’ under-16 section.
John Jones, Sports Development Officer for London Youth said “We always enjoy table tennis and its proving to be one of our most popular festivals. London Youth are excited to continue to deliver these in partnership with Table Tennis England and the support of the Jack Petchey Foundation.”
This event compliments the existing Jack Petchey London Schools’ Table Tennis Championships, a prestigious event aimed at increasing participation and awareness of table tennis in schools in London and now Essex.
Sara Sutcliffe Chief Executive of Table Tennis England said “Thousands of young people have become more active, learned new skills and made new friends thanks to the Jack Petchey Foundation’s support of table tennis in London and Essex. They have created a lasting legacy and we look forward to thousands more youngsters benefitting from the programme in years to come.”Sir Jack Petchey, CBE, the 91-year-old founder of the Jack Petchey Foundation is passionate about giving young people freedom and opportunity. “I’ve been a fan of table tennis since my own youth. It’s a fantastic sport and I am delighted to see this partnership develop with more young people from London and Essex taking part.” For further information about the scheme visit www.londonschoolstabletennis.co.uk
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