Over the weekend 40 young table tennis players from across Ireland gathered to compete in the first TableTennisNI.com Fivemiletown Junior Challenger Tournament. The tournament was organized by Gervis Knox, recently appointed Dungannon & District table tennis sports development officer. The competition brought many players from the Dungannon & District area along with players travelling from as far as Belfast and Letterkenny.

Paul McCreery (Crossgar) took his first Stiga Ulster Open Men’s Table Tennis title, and grabbed a double by sharing the Men’s Doubles honours, played at  the expansive Valley Leisure Centre, while Ulster players dominated by claiming the major titles.

 Ashleigh Givan (Dungannon), playing in the Fivemiletown Academy colours, retained her Ulster Senior Women’s Cup, with a resounding final win over Sarah Timlin (UCD), demonstrating her immense talent and ability as a young protegy of the Ulster Coaching system, supported by Sport NI.

Congratulations to Paul McCreery & Ashley Givan for winning the singles titles at the Ulster Open in the Valley Leisure centre this weekend. Report to follow soon

Fifty nine table tennis enthusiasts from all over Ireland travelled to the Ballymena Academy gymnasiums to participate in the 2012 County Antrim Open. The quality entry included no less than fourteen of Ulster’s top twenty players headed by new Ulster number one Philip Wallace. Top Ulster veteran Pawel Sulkowski was back trying to defend the title he won in 2011 and Daryl Strong, a former Irish number one, also choose the event for his welcomed return to tournament play.