3 Players from 3 Towns Compete Internationally
Ryan Henry (Ardrossan), Martin Johnson (Stevenston) and Steve Morley (Stevenston) have all represented Scotland or GB on foreign soil within the last couple of weeks in major international competitions.
Ryan Henry, 24, has just returned from the French Para Open with the British Para Squad where he was competing in the Class 8 singles and MD18 doubles. In the Class 8 Singles, Ryan qualified through the group in 2nd place after winning two matches out of 3. In the last 16 Ryan lost a close 3-1 to former class 7 European medalist Westerberg (SWE). In the MD18 Ryan and doubles partner Shae Thakker won their first two matches and progressed into the QF with a 3-2 win v Cigolotti/ Jez (FRA). In the QF the boys lost in the 5th set to strong spanish pairing.
Ryan continues to train full time at the EiS in Sheffield which is the main base for British Para and GB TT squad which gives him the best possible training to improve. Ryan competes for North Ayrshire in the Scottish National League and British League.
Steve Morley is just back from competing in the ITTF Parkinsons TT World Championships which took place in Maizieres-le-Metz, France. The 3 events Steve was competing in was Mens Singles class 2, Mixed Doubles Class 2 & Mens Doubles Class 1.
Mixed Doubles Class 2 where Steve was playing with Austrian player Agnes Jan. The pairing started well winning their two opening group matches without dropping a set. With that meant qualification to the semi-final on Saturday afternoon and final on Sunday lunchtime. The semi-final was an epic match with Agnes and Steve going 2-0 up only to be pegged back to 2-2. But we dug deep and battled on to win 3-2. The final was a much more straightforward affair where Steve & Agnes won 3-0 and crowned Class 2 XD World Champions 🏆
Steve is one of the most active players who currently plays 4-5 days a week in various clubs in the West of Scotland. Steve plays at the South Ayrshire TTC, People with Parkinson’s Coached Session, Irvine TTC, North Ayrshire TT, Dunlop TTC & Drumchapel. Training with a lot of people and different playing styles is always beneficial with Steve enjoying getting tips / coaching from different coaches.
Steve updates his own website with results, training and thoughts on his table tennis and other interests. Oh Flower of Sweden…if you didn’t laugh, you’d cry! | Ayrshire Tiger
Martin Johnson was selected to represent Scotland last month at his first European individual championships which was held in Linz, Austria. As part as a 4 player Scotland team, Martin was selected to play in Men’s Singles, Men’s Doubles with partner Danny Bajwa, and Mixed Doubles with partner Alisa Khalid.
To be selected for a competition like the European Individual Championships is an achievement in itself as its one of the strongest competitions that Scottish players can directly enter and the standard of play incredibly high. Martin competed well in his opening match v top Belgium player Florent Lambiet but went down 3-1, then lost 3-0 3-0 to top players Simon Berlung of Sweden and Perez of Spain.
Martin who is out of action just now recovery from an injury is working hard getting himself fit to get back on the table for the second half of the season.
