Tadmarton A continue march to the Banbury table tennis title

Tadmarton A have strengthened their title hopes.

The league restarted this week following a three-week break. Tadmarton continued their march to the title with a 9-1 win over Bodicote C.

Simon Nolan and Barry Hook were undefeated, while Jason Tustain picked up two wins. Paul Rowan picked up the sole point for Bodicote, but Joseph Fisher was unlucky not to add to their tally, losing out in five sets in two of his matches.

Millennium A took advantage of Ratley A’s postponed fixture, to move into second place after a hard-fought 7-win at Ratley B. Jack Shardlow again picked up three points in the singles, supported with two from Pete Harris, while Ethan Morgan won one of his singles matches and the doubles with Shardlow. Alan Cotton was the pick of the Ratley team with two wins.

Bodicote B strengthened their mid-table position with a 6-4 victory over Millennium B. Iko Jacob and Kannan Nithi won two singles apiece, while Ethan Morgan picked up two wins for Millennium. Jacob and Nithi paired up to win the deciding doubles in three straight sets.

In Division 2, Bodicote E surprised leaders Bloxham A in a 6-4 win. Yao Fu reigned supreme in the singles and took the doubles with Changli Wang. Wang also picked up two points in the singles, while Steve Whelton scored two victories for Bloxham and only lost his match against Fu by the closest of margins in five sets. The only other Division 2 match played this week saw Tadmarton B register a comfortable 8-2 win over Bodicote D. Paul Waller and Michael Hawkins won all of their singles as well as the doubles, with Pete Jackson adding a point.

In Division 3, Shutford B moved to within a point of the leaders Bloxham C with a comprehensive 10-0 win against Bloxham D. Mike Starkie led the way as player of the match, ably supported by Derek Oxley and Ant Pugh.

Bodicote H moved up to third following an 8-2 win over Shutford C. Harry Hunt impressed again with three wins, with Finn Gibbs and Benjamin Shangkuan picking up two wins apiece. Shangkuan combined with Eddie Tait to take the doubles. Rod Haddrell took the sole points for Shutford. Bloxham B with games in hand are not far off the pace despite being in fifth place at present. They recorded a 7-3 win over a depleted Bodicote G side. Paul Harris was undefeated with Ian Critchley and Sam Webb picking up further points. John Keen picked up two points for Bodicote and pushed Paul Harris all the way despite losing in three sets in the final singles of the night.