TABLE TENNIS
VICTORIAN OPEN
By KATRINA BRANDON
WITH the eight-year deal through Table Tennis Victoria and Latrobe City, the 2024 S-TREND Victorian Open made its way to the Gippsland Regional Indoor Sports Stadium (GRISS) on April 6 and 7.
Up to 400 players participated throughout the weekend, with juniors taking place on Saturday and seniors (over 20s) on Sunday.
Players from all over Victoria came to enjoy the events from 9am onwards, with some even being Victoria’s top players and Australia’s best.
Key players over the weekend or the ones to watch included Sanaya Buddhadasa, who is part of the Victorian team, Cherry Le, Lucas Lum, Connie Psihogios, who is on track for the Olympics at age 16, and the Victorian team ranked Number 9 in seniors, and Yousef Hassan.
The Open roared with excitement before the event started. Table Tennis Victoria Chief Executive, Andrew Weiss and Latrobe City Mayor, Darren Howe opened the day’s events.
On the Saturday, Traralgon’s rising junior player, Maya Gomez, participated in the U15s, U17s, U1000 points, and U800 points sections. In the two-point sections, also known as the knockout rounds, Gomez didn’t qualify through the first round in U1000s and the second round for U800s due to the fierce competition.
“It was tough because they come from all the different academies in Melbourne,” Gomez said.
“They also have more experience going to more tournaments, so it is really difficult to play them. I don’t have as much experience, but it’s still really fun.”
Gomez has been playing table tennis for almost eight years, and enjoys playing competitions and participating in club pennants at the local Traralgon Table Tennis Association.
“The Victorian Open is fun to show off your training. Because we do so much training at table tennis in Traralgon, we play our competition with everyone there, and we are used to playing them, whereas here it is different as we don’t play them as often and it’s a fun chance to do something new. It’s fun and enjoyable,” she said.
Weiss praised Traralgon for its facility and hospitality.
“It’s been incredible. We are up roughly 20 per cent on last year. Just 190 participants for Sunday, the senior, veterans and para. I think there were 130 juniors on Saturday. I am really stoked,” he said.
“Victoria is the biggest state by far in terms of table tennis. We have nearly 50 per cent of the membership in Victoria. It is a wonderful community. We know each other, and it is fun to play with and against each other. It makes events like this really wonderful to be a part of.”
THE Seniors Open showcased the best of Victoria’s table tennis talent.
Day 2 of the events filled the stadium with extra courts spilling into the back courts just in case the event got too busy.
Things went smoothly, with each section burning through, among the ones to watch were Australia’s Qian Yang (Paralympian), Zachary Anstey (national player), Ma Lin (Paralympian) and Melissa Tapper (Australia’s only person to play in the Olympics and Paralympics.
More Traralgon players came back to the home court to show the rest of the state the best they had, but sadly, the other players topped the charts, even getting top players like Geoff Lawn, Heath Saputo, and Mick Warr, returning from the Victorian Team.
There were no dull moments on the day, as most sections overlapped, meaning the aspiring players could catch the excitement of the super intense games between the ones to watch.
The most enticing game to watch over the weekend was Tapper vs. Connie Psihogios, which went head-on, with Tapper taking the lead in both. Tapper took the Open in the Singles with a 4-1 lead.
“I was excited to be back in Traralgon for the Vic Open after finishing as a finalist in last year’s women’s singles, I was keen to try and do one better,” Tapper said.
“I’m incredibly happy to win my first Victorian Open senior title, 20 years after my first time playing in one.
“The atmosphere was great and the tournament all ran smoothly, big thanks to TTV and Gippsland Indoor Sports Centre.”
Results
Seniors
Men’s Singles – Yonis YiHang Xu; Women’s Singles – Melissa Tapper; Under 21 Men’s Singles – Rivindu Buddhadasa; Under 21 Women’s Singles – Victoria Zhang; Twenties Singles – Yonis YiHang Xu; Para Singles – Christopher Addis; Over 30 Men’s Singles – Craig Carter; Over 30 Women’s Singles – Akie Yoshida; Over 40 Men’s Singles – Simon Johnson; Over 40 Women’s Singles – Cheryl Huang; Over 50 Men’s Singles – David Segal; Over 50 Women’s Singles – Aviva Brindley; Over 60 Men’s Singles – John Pattison; Over 60 Women’s Singles – Zongying Yang; Over 65 Men’s Singles – FrankRiha; Over 65 Women’s Singles – Anne Bellion; Over 70 Men’s Singles – Bob Bowler; Over 70 Women’s Singles – Anne Bellion; Over 75 Men’s Singles – Bob Bowler; Over 80 Men’s Singles – Bernard Mick Wright; Over 85 Singles – Case De Bondt; Under 2000 Singles- Michael Lim; Under 1700 Singles – Vimal Chilukuri; Under 1400 Singles – Tan-Kang, Kee Sing IanIbrahim; Under 1200 Singles – Dirk Holwerda (Leongatha); Under 1000 Singles – Gavin Carrigg (Traralgon); Under 800 Singles – Alan Chan.
Juniors
Under 9 Boy’s Singles – Keene Pan; Under 9 Girl’s Singles – Sihua Ivana Chen; Under 11 Boy’s Singles – Aaryan Batta; Under 11 Girl’s Singles – Nikitha Balram; Under 13 Boy’s Singles – Joshua Ding; Under 13 Girl’s Singles – Lydia Tran; Under 15 Boy’s Singles – Aaron Nguyen; Under 15 Girl’s Singles – Coral Zhao; Under 17 Boy’s Singles – Lucas Lum; Under 17 Girl’s Singles – Connie Psihogios; Under 19 Boy’s Singles – Yousef Hassan; Under 19 Girl’s Singles – Connie Psihogios; Under 2000 Singles – Sidney Win Shwe; Under 1700 Singles – Colin Chen; Under 1400 Singles – Nelson Zeng; Under 1200 Singles – Jin Wen Ivan Chan; Under 1000 Singles – Zilong Oliver He; Under 800 Singles – Samuel Shwe.
