*Update: John Murphy went out in the semi-finals to Gavin Maguire. In the final against Paul McCreery, Maguire started well winning the opener 11-8. McCreery took the second 11-7, the third 14-12 and the fourth 11-9 before closing out the match for his first victory 12-10 in the fifth.
Ashley Givan beat Amanda Mogey to win her third national senior women’s title.
TABLE TENNIS: The ever consistent John Murphy of UCD goes for a sixth national title at this weekend’s Butterfly Irish Senior Table Tennis Championships in the Alsaa, Dublin Airport. Murphy beat Ulster’s Paul McCreery in last year’s final and tops the rankings going into this year’s tournament. A strong challenge is again expected from McCreery and from former champion Gavin Maguire, who is playing full time in Germany this season. Last year’s women’s champion Amanda Mogey remains a doubt due to injury, but if she plays, will be the one to beat. In a strong field, Ashley Givan is the current Irish No 1, while Hannah Lynch Dawson is the rising star of the sport following Munster Open victory and a successful outing at the Women’s British League. League teammates Sabina Devereux and Emma Ludlow, along with Sarah Timlin are three others likely to make the deciding stages of the tournament.
* Finals are scheduled for 4pm tomorrow.
BADMINTON: Scott Evans warmed up for next week’s All England Open Championships with a good run in the German Open Grand Prix Gold in Mulheim. Evans beat Germany’s Lukas Schmidt in the opening round and in his next match,took the first set off third seed Sho Sasaki from Japan ranked No 14 in the world. Sasaki found his way back into the match when he edged ahead to win the second set 23-21 and then took the tie-breaker for victory.In her opening match, Chloe Magee lost to Russian player Natalia Perminova 24-26, 20-22, with a few line calls making all the difference. Magee and brother Sam went out in the second round of the mixed doubles qualifier.
At the All Englands, starting on Tuesday in Birmingham, Evans faces No 2 seed Mohamed Arif Abdul Latif in the men’s qualifying tournament, while Magee playsKarina Jorgensen of Denmark in the women’s qualifier. Sam and Chloe Magee are drawn against Indonesian pair Praveen Jordan and Vita Marissa Vita in the mixed doubles qualifier.
MODERN PENTATHLON: Natalya Coyle and Eanna Bailey are back in Ireland after taking silver in the inaugural mixed relay at last weeks’ Modern Pentathlon World Cup in Palm Springs, California – a first ever World Cup medal for Ireland.
The success followed a successful individual competition where, for the first time, all three Irish competors qualified for their finals. Bailey finished 15thand Arthur Lanigan O’Keeffe 16thin the men’s competition, while Coyle was 25thof the women. In the mixed relay, the Irish pair made a great start in the fencing, nailing down a joint thirdd place. They held on to that position in the swim and after the ride had moved into second place behind Hungary. Only the combined shoot–run remained and despite some nerves the Irish pair held on to their second place.
With modern pentathlon recommended as one of 25 “core” sports for the 2016 Olympic Games, the Irish have a busy year. Next up is the third World Cup of the season, starting in Chengdu, China on April 17, with World Cup finals in May and the World Championships in August.
SNOOKER: Darragh Cusack beat Oisin Harte to win the 33rd Stars Academy U14 tournament held at Joey’s snooker club in Dublin. The much-improved Cusack saw off Dylan O’Connell in the last 16 and and Dylan Hurley in the quarter-finals before beating current U12 and U/13 champion Corey Ramsbottom for a place in the final. In the other half of the draw, Oisin Harte from Carlow booked his place in the final when he beat Dylan Hand. Next up is the Stars U16 and U17 finals in will now be held in Joey’ on Saturday March 16.
*Wayne Doyle won the fourth East Region intermediate ranking event in Celbridge last weekend, beating Neil Guidon in the final. Taking place in the Ivy Rooms, Carlow this weekend is the 6thsenior ranking tournament of the season with David Hogan and Michael Judge on two wins apiece so far this season.
VOLLEYBALL: No change at the top of volleyball’s women’s premier division with DVC and Santry still locked tight. In the latest round of matches, DVC followed their narrow win over Tallaght Rockets with a solid 3-0 win over UCD. They travel to Dublin’s northside to face bottom of the table Ballymun Patriots today, while Santry entertain Tallaght in Artane tomorrow (Sun). Santry have a busy few days with a place in the Association Cup semi-finals at stake when they play the DVC second team on Monday evening. In the men’s premiership, Aer Lingus look to consolidate their lead with victory over Amber Coast in Maynooth tomorrow. Big rivals UCD play the Ballymun Patriots second team after losing to the first team a fortnight ago.
TABLE TENNIS: David Ryan of Sutton LTC will continue to campaign on the European circuit after winning the U17 boys’ singles title at the French Junior Squash Open in Lille. In the final, Ryan beat fellow Irish junior international Michael Craig of Ulster for his second Super Series title of the season. Ryan, who is coached by his dad, Eoin Ryan, is now the top ranked U17 player in Europe. Next up for him and the Irish squad is the German Super Series in Nurnberg followed by the European U19 Championships in Switzerland and the European Squash Team Championships in Girona, Spain.
No comments yet.