PARA Nationals 2011

Players -  Oliver Linton (SNI) & Jeremy Grey (OTC)  

On  6th of November the 38th Mitsubishi Motors Paralympics New Zealand National Championships for table tennis were held at the Waikato Table Tennis Stadium.

There were 16 athletes from all around the country ranging from wheelchair disabilities  (Class 1-5) to the standing athletes (ambulant)(Class 6-10) with Classes 5 and 10 having the least restriction whilst playing.

If athletes are not classified, there is a classification process performed the day before the tournament. This was done by recently certified classifier Henry Redmond. During this process Henry does a series of tests to find out what the disability is, and also to see what the athlete's restricted movements are. After this Henry does a series of different drills on the table to give him a fair idea what the athlete can and can not do around the table.

Matthew Hetherington, President of the WTTA was the perfect host, arranging the catering, umpires and draws. The draws had been changed a few times, including on the day, due to players pulling out or not turning up. He did a great job.  So, thanks to him and his New Zealand representative associates, Armindeep Singh and Jessica Macaskill for their involvement in making this event a success.

Current PNZ Coach John Tuki was also there in support, arranging volunteers  to help pick balls up for our wheelchair athletes. He was also there as coach of two of his players, Victor Kamizona (BOP) and Ayush Bhatnager (AKL), and also was available to lend a hand in the coach's corner to players like wheelchair athlete John Marrable.

Before the tournament started John Tuki announced the exciting news that Oceania is breaking away from the Asia/Oceania region. What this means for our athletes is that we have a better chance of winning and gaining world ranking points, as it was very hard to get both playing against the Asian countries.

Next year should see New Zealand host it's very own Factor 20 tournament here. Many thanks to John Stapleton for being apart of the team involved in achieving this.  Great work John S!

The wheelchair event saw some interesting results, finishing in a two way tie for first place between John Marrable (Otago) & Shakti Krishnan (Waikato). This proves that on the day anything can happen, and anyone could beat anyone. And this day was one of those days. There were some amazing rallies and fantastic shots done by all. It really was a nail-biting tournament regarding our wheelchair athletes.

At the end of the day it was Waikato's 13 year old Shakti Krishnan winning the Gold Medal over last years winner John Marrable. Shakti's coach Matthew Hetherington was stoked and so proud of "his little soldier". Great work Matt.

Shakti displayed fantastic sportsmanship and played brilliantly.  He lost only one match two sets to three, to the oldest player and 4th place getter Brian McLean (NHTT) who is in his early 70's. Brian played one of his best matches ever.

Bronze medal went to James Goulding, who did very well early on in the year at the Arafura Games in Darwin. 5th place went to Irimana Kingi (NHTT) who is NZ's only class 2 athlete in Table Tennis.  She managed to take a set off Shakti 14-12.

National Coach, Brian Barker from North Harbour, was there as well in support of his 3 players and also offered a hand and advice when needed. Thanks Brian.

In the standing event we also saw some interesting results. Newcomer Victor Kamizona (BOP) took Gold, with Aucklands Ayush Bhatnager taking Silver. Victor didn't drop a set throughout the whole tournament. Third place was also taken by another new comer, Jeremy Grey (Otago) who displayed amazing Table Tennis. Jeremy, who has Cerebral Palsy never gave up and his determination was admired by all that watched his matches.

This year saw athletes like Jacob Phillips (Waikato) progress through the ranks and achieve a personal best.  He finished in fourth place.

It was promising to see even more new faces in attendance. Players like Oliver Linton (Pamerston North), Jack Woods and Jason Wali (both Canterbury) showed off their skills as well. Well done to you all!

Giving the medals out was the CEO of Paralympics New Zealand, Fiona Pickering. After the ceremony it was great to see Fiona having a hit with some of the athletes. Thanks again for your support Fiona.

It was so rewarding seeing new faces coming in and giving it their all. With each and every one of them having one thing in common.... winning Gold. It really was great to see.

A special thanks to Fiona Pickering CEO and the entire PNZ team, Chloe Wickman Waikato Parafed, John Parker CEO/Chairman The SMT Group Ltd, Matthew Hetherington President WTTA, Brian Barker NHTT, Henry Redmond Classifier, Marguerite Christophers PNZ, volunteers, athletes and parents. Great job everyone and thank you so much!

Please also see a personal reflection on the event from Matt Hetherington here.