8. May/Jun 1982
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13th EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS YOUNG PRETENDER DENIED by George R. Yates ROLL OF HONOUR YOUTH AT THE HELM Men's Singles Women's Singles With Stellan Bengtsson, a former MIKAEL APPELGREN BETTINE VRIES,EKOOP world champion, struggling to keep his (Sweden) ( Netherlands) place and finally dropped against Yugo slavia in the men's team event in Buda Men's Doubles Women's Doubles pest stock must be taken of Sweden's ZORAN KALINIC and FLURA BULATOVA and depth of young talent now emerging as DRAGUTIN SURBEK INNA KOVALENKO world class players. (Yugoslavia) (Soviet Uni'on) Jan-Ove Waldner, the youngest by far of the five players used by Sweden in Mixed Doubles the team competition, is the latest of the newcomers 1'0 emerge as a senior con ANDRZEJ GRUBBA and BETTINE VRIESEKOOP tender although promise was there i,n (Poland) (Netherlands) abundance when, in August of la'st year, i'n Topolcany, he won the boys' singles Men's Team Women's Team and doubles, with Jonny Akesson, and HUN,GARY HUNGARY shared with Akesson and Erik Lindh the boys' team title in the European Youth Championships. Sweden had it all to themselves in the Zoran Kalinic, the giant Yugoslavian final of th,~ men's singles event in the 13th penholder; Stellan Bengtsson, Sweden's Have no doubts the Swedes have aces European Championships, in Budapest, on former world champion, and, in the semis, up their sleeves and, although they came April 25, 19182, with Mikael Aplt,~lgren, aged Tibor Klampar, of Hungary. but fourth in the men's team event in 20, beating his compatriot, Jan-Ove Both Istvan Jonyer and Gabor Gergely, Waldner, the 16-years-old wonder boy -17, Hungary's other title contenders, were Hungary, two of their players, namely -17, 18, 20, 19 in a truly gripping final. beaten by Appelgren and this after the Mikael Appelgren, the Top 12 winner in Appelgren, a left-hander, fought back Hunga,rians had claimed the gold medals in Nantes, and the i'ce cool Waldner had it from a two-game deficit to take the next the men's team event with a final victory all to themselves in the blue riband event three and the title from his younger over Czechoslovakia winning 5-3 after being· in Budapest. opponent who, en route to the final, had 1-3 down! Jonyer was Hungary's star with disposed of such notables as England's a treble. Come two years hence and Sweden Desmond Douglas (-17, -9, 11, 20 and 11); Again it was a triumph for the Top 12 will start hot favourites for the men's team title in Moscow as Hungary's age,ing players, just like Yugoslavia's and, to a lesser degr'ee, those of Czecho slovakia wi'll be that much older. B,ut what of England's prospects. For to,o rong we have 'relied on just one player, Desmond Douglas, and should he fail then so does the team. Where is the back-up coming from as it has with the decline of Bengtsson. Is the time not now ripe to concentrate on the younger element. Should we not lavish more attention on the likes of Graham Sandley, by no means a faUure in Budapest, on Carl Prean and, if con trollable, Bi.lly Gleave? ENGLISH TABLE TENNIS ASSOCIATION Patron: Her Majesty The Queen. President: M. Goldstein, O.B.E. Life Vice-Pre~ident: Hon. rvor Montagu. Chairman: T. Blunn. Deputy Chairman: G. R. Yates. Hon. Treasurer: A. Drapkin. General Secretary: A. W. Shipley. Management Committee: (Vice-Chairmen) Victor and vanquished. Mikael Ap,pelgren about to put his bat away as Jan-Ove C. J. Clemett, R. J. Crayden, Waldner reflects on his loss. A. E. Ransome, N. K. Reeve. Photo by Lars Sandlin, Stockholm, Sweden. Page 3 Still it was something to fight for and fight we did when Douglas, Hilton and Day took on France who had come in fourth in Group B. T'hree wins for Douglas, over 'C'hristian Martin, Patrick Biroch,eau and Jacques Secretin, plus a splendid victory for Day over the latter took England into a 4-3 win but in losing to Birocheau in th,e eighth. s,et Day set Hilton the task oJ beating Martin for overall victory. DESULTORY Having twice lost in desultory fas,hion not much chanc\a was given of the Flixton man - so successful in Berne - of beating the French defender. But we were wron,g as John, buckling down to the task at lon:g last, b'~at his man 19 and 18 for a well earned win. O'n then to the final engagement with Federal Germany represented by Peter E·ngel, bespectacled and bearded, Engelbert Huging, even more bearded, and Jurg·en Rebel. Sandley took th:e place of Hilton in E,ngland's side and he is was who ac'counted for Huging in the second set after Day had beaten Engel in the opener. " Douglas made it 3-0 in disposing of Rebel then came a setback when Day lost to Huging but a subsequent win for Douglas over Engel took us into a. 4-1 lead countered by Rebel beating Sandley. But it w'as all over in the seventh set w'hen Douglas, com pleted his hattrick polishing off Hug'ing 7 and 8(!). In the top echelon Hungary, after going down to a surprising 3-5 defeat at the hands of Federal Germany (Peter Stellwag (2), E:ngel (2) and Ralf Wosik (1)) did not falter aga.in in topping Group B despite Gergely being beaten t,hrice in the Federal German encounter. Subsequent wins over Sweden (5-3) and Czechoslovakia (5-·3) got them the gold medals. with the Czechs taking second position on the rostrum. Both unsmiling on the rostrum. Appelgren on the No.1 spot and Waldner at No.2. In the counterpart women's event Photo by Lars Sandlin, Stockholm, Sweden. England's Jill Hammersley did a, 'Douglas Duisburg' by going through without sus taining a single loss. winner in Nantes, Bettin,e Vriesekoop of the Lacking practis,e against 'toreign' opposi Netherlands" who won th·e women's singles t.ion, because of the internal troubles, per Her victims included Vriesekoop, Ann t,itle with a final victory over England's Jill haps it was that the Poles, were caught Christ.in Hellman (Sweden), Kirsten Kruger Hammersley, the latt,er having played cold. and Ursula Kamizuru (GFR) , Valentina exceptionally well in claiming victories over But it was England's turn to s·eek excuses the defending champion, Valentina Popova in their next match against Czechoslovakia, of the Soviet Union, and the host country's played the same day, in th·e evening, with Judit Magos. the Cz·echs 5-1 victors after Desmond Miss Vriesekoop, aged 20 from Hazers Douglas h,ad put his country into the lead woude, struck gold again when, with with a first set win over Jindri,ch Pansky. Poland's Andrzej Grubba, the mixed title was won in a final encounter with Dragutin It was in this encounter that Douglas lost Surbek and Branka Batinic of Yugoslavia. his one and only set in the team event when But Surbek was not to be denied in the beaten 14 and 19 by Milan Orlowski. Neither men's doubles which also afforded Kalinic a Douggie Johnson nor Hilton could make any gold in disposing of Gergely and Jonyer. impre,ssion on the Czech trio otherwise comprising Joslef Dvoracek. Owing to a foot injury, worsened by her encount·er with Jill Hamm,ersley, Miss Changes were made for the following Vriesekoop pulled out of the women's morning's match against Denmark - pro doubles final possibly denying Sandra de motees to the Super Division of th,e Euro Kruiff a gold medal the same being claimed pean League - with Paul Day and Graham by Flura Bulatova and In,na Kovalkenko of Sandley replacing Hilton and Johnson. the Soviet Union who had taken out Mrs. Both newcomers revelled in their selection Hammersley and Linda Jarvis in the s,emis. with Day beating Kim Kartholm and Claus Making it a double celebration in the Pedersen, the latter also losing to Sandley. team events, Hungary's Gabriella Szabo and Douglas, of cours,e, .~on his two. Edit Urban took the women's title for In the evening of th·e same day, an Hungary beating F,ederal Germany's Ursula identIcal English trio took on Sweden. But, Kamizuru and Kirsten Kruger 3-1 in the despite Douglas claiming the scalps of final. Stellan Bengtsson, Appelgren (14 and 11) CAUGHT COLD and Erik Lindh not another set cam'e our way with Sandley thrice beaten and Day Matters got under 'way on the morning twice. of ApI. 17 when, at 10.30 a.m., E.ngland's men went into a'ction against Poland in The last match in the first stage was their opening 1st stage Group A match. But against Austria and w'ith Johnson affording who would have predicted the 5-0 scoreline Douglas a rest it was a 5-0 result in that ensued with John Hilton, having England's favour. But thos·e two losses to scraped home 2l3-21 in the first game the Czechs and the Swedes· made it that Desmond Douglas - success in the team against Grubba, throwing away a 20-12 lead 5th position was th·e highest we could event. in the second, giving the most palpitations? attain. Photo by Jose Ransome, Ormesby, Cleveland. Page 4 all fell in the first round and all three to Swedes in the persons of Menni Weizades, Hellman, and Marie Lindblad respectively.