'Schildkrot' Balls LAST LONGER PLAY BETTER by George R. Yates SOVIET DOMINANCE NEAR COMPLETE "WORLD BEATERS" ROLL OF HONOUR Men's Singles Women's Singles STANISLAV GOMOZKOV ZOYA RUDNOVA (U.S.S.R.) (U.S.S.R.) Men's Doubles Women's Doubles ANATOLlY AMELIN and SVETLANA GRINBERG STANISLAV GOMOZKOV and ZOYA RUDNOVA (U.S.S.R.) (U.S.S.R.) Mixed Doubles EBERHARD and DIANE SCHOLER (Federal Germany) Veteran Men's Singles Veteran Women's Singles STAN NORTON JEAN WILLIAMS (Essex) (Buckinghamsh're) TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS Men Women SWEDEN U.S.S.R. BEATEN SEMI-FINALISTS SELDOM has the final of a mixed Soviet champions, STANISLAV GOMOZKOV =d ANATOLIY doubles event been of such significance AMELIN (depicted above in the European Championships at Lyons) bea'. as it was on Saturday, March 1 reigning world title holders, Hans Alser =d Kjell Johansson of Sweden, when, in Brighton's Dome Theatre, to win the men's doubles title at Brighton. the very real threat of complete Soviet dominance was averted in the weakening Maria Alexandru and final set of the 42nd English Open Eleanora Mihalca of Rumania. Championships. RUSSIAN CONQUEST AT Also effectively suppressed, by Had not "Ebby" and Diane Gomozkov and Amelin, was the chal­ EASTBOURNE Scholer brought off their well-merited lenge of Hans Alser and Kjell victory, over Anatoliy Amelin and Johansson of Sweden for the men's AVENGING their European.League SveUana Grinberg, the clock would doubles title. defeat of last season at Birmingham, have been put back a decade, for it the Soviet Union virtually assured was in season 1958-59 that the board What glitter was attaching to the themselves of retaining their Premier was last swept clean, by Japan. world title for this event, held by Division title by beating England the Scandinavian pair, was tarnished 4-3 at Eastbourne on Mar. 4. Prior to this last-ditch Federal beyond refurbishing as the Soviet duo German victory, the hammer and were found wanting in only one game Also starring in the avenging role sickle emblem of the Soviet Union out of four. was Mary Wright who played the set had been firmly "welded" onto four of her life in accounting for No. 3 trophies, two by retention and two Seldom inspiring real enthusiasm, world-ranked Zoya Rudnova in by successful take-over bids. the women's singles title went slowly straight games and shared with Neale but assuredly to Zoya Rudnova with in a mixed doubles success over Not a final to appeal to other than a three-straight win over her com­ Amelin and Miss Grinberg. the connoisseur, the challenge of patriot Svetlana Grinberg. European champion Drugutin Surbek England's only other success came for the men's singles title, held by EVIDENT in the final set of the evening when Stanislav Gomozkov, fell lamentably These were to have been the Neale beat Amelin subsequent to the short. championships in which Engl=d's Russians having established a winning new image was to have been very lead. Very rarely was the Yugoslavian's evident and it was Denis Neale who concrete-breaking forehand brought to made it so when he became the first Individual scores in match order bear simply because Gomozkov could Englishman to reach rthe semi-final were:­ not be forced back from the table of the men's singles for seven years. D. c-eale lost to S. Gomozkov -19, England's main contenders for the -15; women's doubles title, MARY but all credit to the Russian who spiked the Championships' biggest How well he played and how near C. Barnes lost to A. Amelin -19, -15; WRffiHT =d KARENZA M. Wright bt Z. Rudnova 17, 19; MATHEWS, bowed out to Maria gun so effectively. he came to success. If only he could Neale/Barnes lost to Gomozkov/ Alexandru and Eleanora Mihalca of have taken that fourth game from The afternoon's programme com­ Gomozkov which went to the Russian Amelin -13, -12; Rumania. Pictured above, is Mary menced with the women's doubles Neale/Mrs. Wright bt Gomozkov/ waiting to come in follo-wing a back· to afford him his penultimate 3-1 final in which Zoya Rudnova and success. Miss Rudnova -20, 17, 21; hand rEitum by Karenza. Svetlana Grinberg successfully Barnes lost to Gomozkov -18, -18; Photos' by Denis Offer. retained their title against a gradually ENGLISH OPEN cont. on rage 10 Neale bt Amelin -20, 19, IS. Page 1 TABLE TENNIS NEVIl S Published on the 10th of each INTERN'ATIONAL ROUND-UP -nonth, October to May inclusive. Postal Subscriptions 10/- for eight issues post free. bll Con.rad Jaschke 4.dvertisements: Derek R. Tremayne, GiAIRMAN OF THE ENGLISH TABLE TENNIS ASSOCIATION "Veryan," 46, Perry Street, Wen­ dover, Aylesl..>..sry, Bucks. 'Phone: LATEST results to hand in the for the second time when she defe'ated Wendover 2421. European League are as follows:­ Veronique van del' Laan (16)-11, 13, Circulation: E.T:r.A. Secretariat, 13, -18, 12. Twenty-years-old Bert Roo'n; 323, 26/29 Park Crescent, Premier Division van der Helm won .his fourth singles Lon'don:.W.1N 4HA. 'Phone: 01-580 title by b,eating Frans Schoofs 15, .17, c_~2·· Federal Germany 4 Sweden 3 r2. Editorial: George R. Yates, 43 Hungary 2 U.S.S.R. 5 Knowsley Road, Smithills, Bolton, England 6 Rumania] Irish Corner Lanes. 'Phone: Bolton 42223. England 3 U.S.S.R. 4 Big surprise of the recent Irish Open Championships was the semi­ P W L F A Ps final defeat of Czech. No. 1 J aroslav 'FLOODLIGHT' Stanek in straight games by Ireland's U.S.S.H. 4 4 U 21 7 8 Jim Langan (writes Kevin Drum). There is no doubt, no matter England 6 3 3 24 18 6 what the outcome of our efforts in singing a few of their country's folk Munich next month, that the 1968-69 Sweden ................ 4 3 1 16 12 6 Langan lost to Stefan Kollarovits songs. season has been one of tremendous in the final, after the Czech had Czechoslovakia .... 3 2 1 12 9 4 earlier beaten Ireland's No.2 Tommy achievement. On the following night, after a Federal Germany 4 2 2 13 15 4 Caffrey. No longer should the plaintive cry civic lunch in Ayr and a civic recep­ Hungary 4 0 4 9 19 0 tion by the Lord Provost of Glasgow, be heard "What do we get out of The women's singles title went to our affiliation to the E.T.T.A. ?" This Rumania 3 0 -' 3 JR 0 the teams met to do battle once more Martha Luzova-Hemova who had an within the Glasgow Sports Centre. season, at least, county and league easy win over Judy Heaps, and these secretaries should be only too well Second Division two girls combined to beat Joan aware of what is being done by the This time Sugden, playing excep­ France 6 Switzerland Fitzsimons and Marie Martin in the national body. tionally well, beat Kollarovits and Belgium 4 Denmark 3 women's doubles final. Mrs. Luzova­ In contention, on an output basis, Hemova completed a hat-trick by partnered by new 'cap' Eric Suther­ with H.M. Stationery Office, the winning also the mixed doubles land won the men's doubles against E.T.T.A. Secretariat has been work­ PW L F A Ps partnered by Australian Paul Pinke­ Stanek and Turai. ing full blast from the season's out­ France 4 4 o 20 8 8 wich and the two Czechs. won the Only the match result was an im­ set and long may their brows per­ Denmark 5 3 2 25 10 6 men's doubles beating Langan and spire. Caffrey in the final. provement on the previous night as Belgium 4 3 1 16 12 6 the crowd was less than 200 and the National Council minutes now Switzerland 4 2 2 10 18 4 Australian junior champion P. organisation, almost non-existent, have a wider distribution than ever will require to be much improved if before and the introduction of Netherlands 4 1 3 13 15 2 Powell won the boys' singles beating Tony Langan and the promising future matches of this nature are to regular news bulletins, covering the Austria 2 0 be held in Glasgow. more important aspects of the 2 4 10 0 Ballymena player Kyra Stewart took Association's work, should leave no Luxembourg 3 0 3 3 18 0 the girls' singles beating Dublin's Ellen Towell. After match hospitality was pro­ one "ih the dark" as to what is vided on this occasion by Messrs. going on. BUSIEST SEASON Hepburn and Ross, proprietors of A mammoth and varied home in­ Jim Langan and Joy Geary had "Red Hackle" Scotch Whisky, within ternational, programme has brought WE are approaching the end of victories over their close rivals their Kelvin House premises where to widely separated venues the what has been the busiest season Tommy Caffrey and Joan Mahony to the visitors were shown round the national teams of Federal Germany, ever as far as our home international win the singles titles in the East of private collection of a.ptiquities Czechoslovakia, Sweden, Yugo­ programme is concerned, and already Ireland Championships. housed in a museum which forms slavia, Hungary, Rumania and the we can see that an even larger pro­ part of the premises. Soviet Union-with Japan yet to gramme may be called for next Czechs tour Scotland come, in May. season. THE two-day stay in Scotland of Detailed results: The Association's finances, for so More and more leagues wish to the Czech team on their first visit long nursed like an ailing child by stage international matches, and the north of the border was most success­ Edinburgh, February 24.