Singles setbacks
GUERNSEY'S table tennis team exceeded expectations to post their best ever Island Games medals tally.
GUERNSEY'S table tennis team exceeded expectations to post their best ever Island Games medals tally.
'We have done very well. It's the first time that the Guernsey team has been in the final of the team event and to come away with the gold is an amazing achievement for us,' said team manager Lionel Jones on a day when the island's top two players, Phil Ogier and Dawn Morgan, wearily collected silver medals in their respective singles.
'For Guernsey to come to the Shetland Games and have a gold medal in the team event and a medal in all the other events is better than we could have ever hoped for. It's the best ever performance overall by the team at any Island Games.'
Guernsey grabbed silver in the mixed doubles final yesterday afternoon - Phil Ogier and Dawn Morgan went down 11-9, 11-7, 11-6 to Gotland pair John Eriksson and Evelina Carlsson in the final at Sandwick Junior High School.
'They played exceptionally well and did not make any mistakes and we have got no complaints,' said Ogier, minutes after the match.
'It's getting to the stage of the competition when we are getting a bit fatigued. The singles finals have been in the back of our minds and although you play your hardest for every medal you can't get away from the fact that the pinnacle is the team event and the singles,' he said.
He was quietly confident of beating Faroe Islands opponent Thomas Ramussen in the singles final, but his confidence proved misplaced.
Rasmussen swept into a 3-0 sets lead and although Ogier briefly rallied the Scandinavian took the gold by an 11-8, 11-9, 11-3, 3-11, 7-11, 11-9 scoreline.
Morgan, too, could not quite pull it off in the gold play-off with Gotland's Ebelina Carlsson, the Swede sweeping tyo a straight sets victory.
The defeats detracted nothing from the Sarnian's overall efforts, though.
'I think we have done better than we expected. It's built from the team event and beating Jersey 7-0 and everyone was on a high from there. Today is the highlight for those who have been lucky enough to have got through to the individual finals,' he said.
Jones believed much of this week's success was due to the sports development in the last three or four years to help bring youngsters into the game and having its own premises at the table tennis centre.
'The development of the sport is being driven by Derek Webb and the committee and we are beginning to see the fruits of our labours,' he said.
'The players have worked long and hard and we are now looking forward to Rhodes in 2007. We have a nucleus of younger players who on their abilities should perhaps have been picked for the second or third string but it was felt they were too young to come away.'
'But it's definitely a carrot for them to aspire to - to get into the squad for Rhodes,' said Jones.
Prior to four years ago the table tennis team hardly ever went out of the island but going abroad and playing nationally and in the six nations competitions has helped to sport progress in Guernsey.
'There is now opportunity to go awat and play better players and learn. We have got strength in depth and we have youngsters coming through. This is the best Guernsey table tennis team in the modern era with the mixture of youth and experience. What we have got now is balance and they have gelled well together and made a good team,' said Jones.
