Schools shine at table tennis event
Hot-shot table tennis players from Morpeth School took top honours in the under-16 boys’ and girls’ categories in the East London Regional final of the Jack Petchey Foundation London Schools Team competition.
The competition bought together 130 players and 16 teams from schools from Barking & Dagenham, Bexley, City of London, Greenwich, Hackney, Havering, Lewisham, Newham, Redbridge and Tower Hamlets
And the Morpeth under-16 boys team of Anthony Lynch, Imram Hussain, Murhad Hussain, Rijul Roychoudhury and Jamie Dignum beat Lewisham’s Hatcham College 6-2 in their final.
Lynch said: “I thrive on the adrenaline of competitive table tennis. There are good opportunities for competitions through Jack Petchey, schools and clubs. It’s also great for meeting new people and making friends.
“As a team we have won this competition every year we have entered, it’s a good standard and some of the games were very difficult. I just want to improve and win as many trophies and medals as possible.”
The under-16 girls team of 12-year-olds Yasna Hawbash and Isla Hammond, 14-year-old May Tran and 15-year-old Nabilah Rifat beat George Green’s School 7-1 in their final.
Rifat said: “I love the feeling of winning and the atmosphere at these competitions is always great. Getting the win was difficult, but we managed it mainly because of the hard work and training we’ve done as a team for the last few years.”
Morpeth’s under-13 girls were runners-up in their competition, losing to Barking & Dagenham’s Eastbury in the final.
Tower Hamlets had more to celebrate as the under-13 boys’ team from Raines Foundation came out on top.
Samuel Idele, Mayowa Agbbolade, Shamari Richards, Ardi Beqiri and Deneil Wynter combined to beat Lewisham’s Deptford Green 6-2 in their final.
Wynter said: “Table Tennis is fast and fun and there’s a great atmosphere at these competitions. It’s great to take part as a team, but it’s even more pressure. The final will be tough.”
*The Jack Petchey Schools’ Table Tennis Championships is a prestigious event which includes team and individual competitions all aimed at increasing participation and awareness of table tennis in schools in London.
Winners of the regional competitions progress to the Jack Petchey London School’s Team finals being held on January 30 at UEL SportsDock.
The project also includes the donation of indoor and outdoor table tennis tables which is also helping to increase interest in the sport.
As the project moves into its fifth year, so far 1,365 indoor and outdoor table tennis tables have been donated to schools in London and Essex and over 21,000 players have taken part in the competitions.
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.
“The table donation scheme and the team and individual competitions have taken the profile of the sport and the standard of play to new heights. They have created a lasting legacy and we look forward to thousands more youngsters benefitting from the programme in years to come.”
Jack Petchey CBE, the 90-year-old founder of the Jack Petchey Foundation, is passionate about giving young people freedom and opportunity.
He said: “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 londonschoolstabletennis.co.uk.
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