TABLE TENNIS NEWS Published each month, October to May in­ clusive. Postal sUbscriptions £ 3.15 for eight issues. Overseas airmail £4.90. 121 h EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS Advertisements: Mrs. Christine Wilkes, English Table Tennis Association, 21 Clare­ mont, Hastings, East Sussex TN34 1HA. ROLL OF HONOUR 'Phone: Hastings (0424) 433121. Subscriptions: Mrs. Bessie Clark, English Men's Singles: Wom'en's S'ingles: Table Tennis Association, 21 Claremont, Hastings, East Sussex TN34 1HA. 'Phone: JOHN HILTON VALENTI'NA POPOVA Hastings (0424) 433121. (England) (Soviet Union) Distribution: Mrs. E. Doreen Yates, 43 Knowsley Road, Smithills, Bolton, Lanes. Men's Doubles: Women's Doubles: BL1 6JH. 'Phone: Bolton 42223. Editorial: George R. Yates, 43 Knowsley PAT'RICK BIROC'HEAU and NARINE ANTONIAN and Road, Smithills, Bolton, Lanes. BL1 6JH. JACQUES SECRETIN VALENTINA P'OPOVA 'Phone: Bolton 42223 (h); 061-228 2141, Ext. 2698 (b). (France) (Soviet Union) Mixed Doubles: MILAN ORLOWSKI and ILONA UHLIKOVA INDEPENDENCE (Czechoslovakia) MAINTAINED Men's Team: Women:'s Team: By 21 votes to 12 the National Council, SWEDEN SOVIET UNION meeting in London on April 19, voted in favour of retaining control of Table Tennis News under the auspices of the national body rather than allow it to become in­ corporated with the commercial venture of Marsh Publications Ltd. HILTON MELTS THE ICE Nonetheless, the London-based publishers IN BERNE are to go ahead with a table tennis maga­ zine, beginning in September, to supplement their racket sport publications and one by George R. Yates would hope, if only for the betterment of publicising our particular sport, that both Even allowing for his eleven wins against whilst, in the mixed final England's former will :flourish. five losses in the men's team event the odds European Youth champions, Douglas and against Lancashire's JOHN HILTON win­ Linda Jarvis had to content themselves Much will depend on advertising revenue ning the men's singles title of the European with the silver medals, the gold being won of course but with it peaceful co-existence Championships must have been tremen­ by MILAN ORLOWSKI and ILONA can be achieved. And there should be dous. And yet he duly became the first UHLIKOVA of Czechoslovakia. Englishman to do so when, in the Eisstadion But who will forget the final struggle for sufficient readership, who constantly moan Allmend in Berne, Switzerland. on April 13/ gold in the men's team event which, in the at the lack of publicity in the national '80, he smoothed his way in three-straight small hours was won by SWEDEN whose press, to subscribe to both publications. games over the final hurdle provided by Ulf C'arlsson, in the ninth and deciding set, Josef Dvoracek of Czechoslovakia. triumphed over Lieck 19 and 19 to deny Prior to, in six even more astounding victory for Federal Germany whose Peter FILLIP rounds, the 32-years-old Mancunian had Stellwag had not only beaten Carlsson but left in his wake such notables as Bruno his teammates Stellan Bengtsson and Ulf No greater fillip could have been afforded Parietti of France, Bj arne Grimstrup of Thorsell as well. the sport than the success, in Berne, of John Denmark, Wilfried Lieck of Federal Oh yes, there were drawbacks in this Hilton whose triumph in winning the men's Germany - to reverse a defeat in the team event - Tibor Kreis·z of Hungary, Gabor initially cold and draughty stadium but on singles title of the European Championships Gergely of Hungary - the defending cham­ balance the good outweighed the bad and - the first Englishman to do so - is surely certainly from England's point of view, with pion previously beaten by Hilton in the one gold, one silver, and three bronze, the without parallel in the annals of inter­ team match - and, in the semi-final, lat,ter in the women's dOUbles and team national competition. F'rench ace Jacques Secretin. championships, our contingent under the Tru.ly this was a remarkable performance, captaincies of Peter Simpson and Donald John has not only considerably enhanced possibly the sporting coup of all times, and Parker did their country proud. It could his o\vn standing but must have created a most certainly wit,hout parallel in the even have been better but overall we had a annals of the European Table Tennis sizeable slice of the cake and Swiss cake Is spur to others that with dedication the sky Chanlpionships·. Here was a man, figuring is the limit. Well done John. You have, by a speciality. at No. 3 behind Desmond Douglas and Paul In the upper echelons of t,he team cham­ your very success, rendered the sport an Day in the English team, hacking down the pionships·, with twelve first cat,egory teams enormous boost. giants of Europe whilst still engaged, back split into equal groups of six, t·he pro­ home, as an insurance agent, on a door to gramme was far from strenuous with just door collect,ion and sales basis, tramping one session in the evening of the opening the pavements of the environs of day. ApI. 5, and two sessions subsequently ENGLISH TABLE TENNIS ASSOCIATION Manchester. on the three succeeding days. But what too of the exploits of the 19­ Patron: Her Majesty the Queen. years-old Russian girl, VALENTINA England's opening match in the men's event was against Bulgaria, the tenth President: M. Goldstein, O.B.E. POPOVA, of the Dynamo club in Baku. Not only did she strike gold by winning the placed team in Duisburg, and no difficulty Life Vice-President: Hon. Ivor Montagu. women's singles beating Gordana was encountered in t,he 5-0 victory obtained only, Day, in the opening set, being ex­ Chairman: T. Blunn. Perkucin of Yugoslavia in the final - but added the same to victory in the women's tended to a third and deciding game by Deputy Chairman: G. R. Yates. doubles wit,h her compatriot, NARINE Djevat Hassanov, the opposition's No.2. Hon. Treasurer: M. S. Greatrex. ANTONIAN, and ultimat,e success in the But much sterner opposition was to be General Secretary: A. W. Shipley. women's team event when the SOVIET encountered in the afternoon of the follow­ UNION beat Hungary 3-1. ing day against Sweden, the eventual Management Committee: PATRICK BIROCHEAU and JACQUES winners. What price then the 5-2 win (Vice-Chairmen) SECRETIN of France took the men's obtained? And this after the teams had C. J. Clemett, R. J. Crayden, A. E. Ransome, doubles title, beating Anton Stipanic and stood level at 2-all! N. K. Reeve and E. G. White. Dragutin Surbek of Yugoslavia in the final, First to the table for England was Douglas Page 2 Simpson that Hilton would beat Lieck and on paper that was most likely. But it did not happen and the Federal German's 14, 21 victory was tantamount to winning the match as it so proved and thus England were left to battle for third or fourth place instead of striking for gold as they did against Hungary t,wo years previous. In the other penultimate encounter, bet,ween first-placed Hungary from Group A, and second placed Sweden from Group B, a battle royal ensued with the Hungarians pulling back a 0-3 deficit to 3-3 and level­ ling again at 4-4 before the blonde Carlsson got t,he Swedes home 5-4 with a ninth set victory 12" 1'7 over Istvan Jonyer. E'ngland's final encounter with Hungary for positions 3 and 4 was really a non event for I have seldom seen the Hungarians so dispirited and their captain Zoltan Berczik so subdued. England won 5-3 with Douglas obtaining a treble, Hilton beating both Tibor Klampar and Gergely; Day losing to Gergely and Klampar whilst Jonyer chalked up a win against Hilton. In all honesty one could not get worked up about this victory albeit England quali­ fied for bronze medals ... but, then, so did Hungary. TITANIC Starkly contrasting was the titanic struggle for the gold awards with Sweden losing leads of 2-0, 3-1 and 4-2 to be pulled back to 4-4 before Carlsson, a player in the mold of Kjell Johansson, completed a Victory smile from England's John Hilton. magnificent hattrick with a ninth set win over a desperate Lieck whose resistance Photo by Don Morley, Morden, Surrey. carried him to 19 points in each of the t\\TO games. who fought back from a 0-1 deficit to and truly shattered on the morning of April account for Carlsson in the next two. Not 8 when. in the crossover encounters~ as the Sweden began confidently enough with so Day in t,he next set whose resistance to winners of Group B, they took on Federal Carlsson beating Engelbert Huging and Bengtsson was minimal. Hilton was then to Germany, the second placed team from Bengtsson following suit with a 2-straight make his first real impression in Berne Group A. win over Lieck. Stellwag pulled one back when he beat Thorsell, 19 in the third, to with an easy win over Thorsell only for put England's noses in front again. No better start could have been given Bengtsson to restore the 2-set advantage than that by D,ay who, aft,er losing the with a third game win over Huging. Reality was again met with equanimity opening game, came back with a vengeance with Bengtsson's third game success over to beat Stellwag in the next two. But this Again the Swedes re-established a 2-set Douglas to bring the mat,ch score level for was the one occasion that Hilton lapsed and advantage when Thorsell, for once played to the second time.