National Championships for Krish!
The weekend of 8 and 9 January saw the qualification tournament for the Senior National Table Tennis event; the top 18 ranked players in England automatically qualify, with a further 14 progressing from the qualification tournament, comprising of over 200 players, including Will Bayley, World Number 1 Paralympic table tennis player (and Strictly Come Dancing contestant!).
Despite having a Junior National ranking (under 19) of 31, this was Krish’s first Senior Men’s tournament. With only the top player in each group progressing automatically to the knockout stages on the Sunday, things looked very tough indeed when Krish was grouped with the tournament Number 4 seed and male England ranked 23 player, Jack Bennet, along with four other players all ranked in the top 250 in the country.
Krish had the toughest of starts, playing the number 4 seed in the first match of the group, which he remarkably won 3-1, showing fantastic composure throughout the match. He went on to win all of his group matches, including a victory against a fellow Junior who he had never defeated before.
In the first round proper, formed by the top 32 qualifiers from the group stages, Krish faced yet another top ranking Junior who had defeated him on their three previous meetings, but Krish’s incredible form continued and he was victorious in three comfortable games.
The last 16 match was probably the most important of the tournament, as the winner was guaranteed a place in the National Championship on 25 March, to line up against the country’s elite players. Krish’s opponent was the Number 49 ranked player in the country, Naphong Boonyaprapa; another young star of the game. In a tight match, Krish triumphed 3-1, having won the second game from being 9-2 down; once again, his skill and impeccable temperament saw him through.
The last eight match was a step too far for Krish when he was defeated 3-1 by the experienced Graeme Barella, ranked 35 nationally, who proved too strong. Krish had, however, qualified for the Senior National Championship by virtue of a final placing of at least 8 and, despite losing his next match, he was not finished yet, beating yet another ranked player in his final match to finish in 7th place overall.
Krish’s performances over the weekend not only guaranteed a place in the National Championship, but also led to an invitation to train with the full National Junior Squad on the following weekend.
We now wait to see where Krish will be ranked in the next publication of the National Senior Rankings, and we all congratulate him on what was an outstanding performance.
