TABLE TENNIS - 4th European Universities Championship
Sunday 20 June 2010
Kazan, Russia, June 2010
Day 0 – June 20th
The daily training routine at St. Catherine’s squash courts finished today, and was followed by a team bonding dinner at The Anchor. Josh Bleakley and Shaun Hall crashed on Hamish Yeung’s floor where Bleakley’s violent snoring caused Hall to lose sleep.
Day 1 – June 21st
Jan Natolski arrived at 5.05am, shortly followed by the taxi. We arrived in Moscow at 3.05pm local time (GMT+4), and arrived in Kazan airport at 9.10pm. The moment we stepped on Kazan soil, we were escorted into a private bus to the baggage collection area, where we met organiser Gulfina and team chaperone Albina. The University of Minho, Portugal also arrived, and we travelled to the hotel in a bus together.
Shortly after arrival at Ibis hotel, the first disaster struck. Hamish had left his pass in the bus, causing Albina to make the appropriate phone call to get the bus back.
Day 2
After breakfast at the hotel, captain Shaun decided to go with the team on a sightseeing tour, instead of the ‘educational methodical seminar’. We were told about revolutionary Karl Fuchs, the Kremlin and the history of Kazan, the third capital city of Russia. We were also shown the first Mosque in Kazan, built in 1767.
The team took the opportunity to blend in with the Tatarstan locals. After lunch, we headed over to the sports palace to participate in the draw process, practice and give a local television interview (http://kazan2013.com/news/captain-shaun-and-his-team/). Captain Hall was quoted to say “we’re going for gold” while rivals from Nottingham University were less confident and were intent on avoiding the wooden spoon.
Hall secured a partnership with the ladies from Anadolu University, Turkey in the mixed doubles events for all but Natolski, who used his linguistic skills to make an arrangement with Gorbenko from Duisburg-Essen University.
Day 3
Cambridge had a fortunate draw – we were in a group of five, meaning that it was not possible to finish 11th (last place). Even so, we were determined not to finish last place in the group. We were not scheduled to play in the first round of matches, so we used the time to scout and separate the world class opponents from the beatable. The University of Minho, Portugal and The University of Freiburg, Germany were selected as the weak links, while Rzeskov University, Poland and Russian State University for Humanities (RSUH) were deemed “untouchable” after seeing world class rallies featuring several ‘round the net’ shots. Firstly, we played
RSUH, losing 3-0 in straight sets. Bleakley faced number 24 in the world junior rankings, Taras Merzlikin. Although outclassed, the great sportsmanship of the Russians resulted in an enjoyable encounter. The opening ceremony followed, with an enjoyable display of drumming and dancing, and a presentation of local speciality dish “chuk chuk” to each team.
Next, we played Rzeskov University, Poland, where Yeung faced Polish national player Tomasz Lewandowski, while Natolski and Bleakley faced the Chmiel brothers. Natolski put Cambridge on the score sheet by taking a game against Pawel and celebrated accordingly.
Day 4
The day started with a match against The University of Freiburg, Germany. Yeung gave a good fight against number one Volker Schneider, losing 3-1, and Yeung and Hall both defeated number two Wadim Hurlebaus 3-0. Bleakley gave a strong effort in the first two games against Till Werner, losing 16-14 in both, but lost 3-0. The final match was Hall against Scheneider, and the German had the edge, winning 3-0 with two deuces. Result: 3-2 loss. We needed a win against Minho University, Portugal to avoid the bottom place in the group and play rivals Nottingham University for 7th/8th playoff. Yeung had a superb game against number one Joni Sousa but lost 3-2 in a game full of topspin – topspin rallies. Hall had little trouble against number two Carlos Fernandes, as did Natolski against Tiago Abreu. Sousa’s topspins were too powerfull for Hall, resulting in a 3-0 defeat. Yeung played Fernandes in the decider, and relaxed after a 7-1 lead in the fifth set, resulting in another 3-2 loss for Cambridge.
Cambridge faced the University of Geneva, Switzerland in the 9th/10th playoff. Natolski powered through Loris Biro-Levescot, winning 3-1, and Hall had no problems against Benoit Luiser, winning 3-1. Bleakley failed to hit through Laurent Langel’s off the table play, losing 3-0. Natolski felt the pressure against Luiser and lost 11-9 in the fifth game. Hall took the first two against Biro-Levescot but tiredness and pressure kicked in as the TV cameras focussed on the game, and lost the next two. Coach Yeung provided the required motivation, resulting in an easy 11-6 win in the final game. Result: 3-2 win.
Meanwhile, Natolski befriended Polish coach and legend Wieslaw Pieta, resulting in an invitation for the team to visit Jan Dlugosz University, Poland!
Orenburg State University had no trouble winning the team event, with the help of 55 in the world, Kirill Skachkov, with Kazan Volga Federal University in second, followed by Rzeszov University, Poland.
Yeung fell victim to an unlucky draw where he faced Schneider from Freiburg University in the qualifying stage. Despite having had a close game earlier in the team event, Schneider came out on top, winning 3-0.
Day 5
Bleakley avoided the qualifying stage in the singles, but faced Polish national player Lewandowski. Bleakley enjoyed the game, but lost 3-0. Hall was drawn against Cypriot Iakovoa Iakovou, but decided not to turn up after losing every match the previous day. He faced Russian Sergey Martykov in the last sixteen, and despite Bleakley’s top quality coaching, lost 3-0. Natolski faced Freiburg’s Till Werner in the first round, and clinched a victory deuce in the fifth, defending against several match points. He then faced number one seed Pawel Chmiel, and could do little but watch in awe.
In the men’s doubles event, Bleakley and Natolski had a strong first game against a pair from the Russian State University for Humanties, but were over powered in the next two, losing 3-0. Hall and Yeung had a close game against a pair from Coimbra University, Portugal, losing the first 11-9 and the last 12-10, but failed to gel as a team and lost 3-0.
The mixed doubles events saw Bleakley, Hall and Yeung pair up with Turkish players Ozel, Koc and Halacoglu, whilst Natolski played with German, Gorbenko. Bleakley and Ozel had a tough match against a German pair and lost 3-0, whilst Yeung and Halacoglu lost close in the fifth to a strong Russian pair. Natolski and Gorbenko also had a good game but had an unlucky draw against a Russian pair, losing 3-1.
Hall and Koc endured a tactical match against a German and Swiss pair, where each game went to the team where the man was playing to the woman. The final set, therefore was balanced, and Hall and Koc came through to win deuce in the fifth. They faced a Russian pair in the next round and played superbly but lost 3-1, they went on to win silver.
We went to a bar with our Turkish friends in the evening where charades were the main form of entertainment.
Day 6
Following a well deserved lie in, we went around Kazan for a second time, this time going inside the Kremlin, and along the pedestrian street.
In the evening, we went to a bar, a rock concert “the creation of peace” and finally finished the trip off with a visit to a Russian night club with the majority of competitors, communicating through the common language of ping pong related dance moves.
Josh Bleakley, Jan Natolski, Shaun Hall and Hamish Yeung
Natolski goes for a massive topspin while Gorbenko watches in awe
