Kate Hughes, a Colebridge and Warwickshire player and coach was selected to be the non-playing captain for the England Girls Table Tennis Team at the World Schools Gymnasiade which took place from Saturday 14th to Sunday 22nd May 2022 in Normandy, France.
The Gymnasiade event involved representatives from 63 countries across 20 different sports and is the largest international multi-sport event involving school students aged 16-18 years. The event was spread across 9 cities in Normandy, including Caen, Deauville, Ecouves, Granville, Le Havre, Montivilliers, Pont-Audemer, Rouen and Val de Reuil. The table tennis competition took place in Montivilliers.
The opening ceremony involved a parade through the town of Deauville. This involved the England delegation of Table Tennis and Swimming representatives.
The England girls’ team was represented by Amy Marriott, Erin Green, Lauren Loosemore and Samadhi Udamulla, with Kate Hughes as the NPC.
The England boys’ team was represented by Naphong Boonyaprapa, Rhys Davies, Oliver Cornish, and Bertie Kelly, with Chris Parker as the NPC.
Gail Johns was Head of Delegation.
Girls team results
Group stages
England beat Brazil 5-2
England beat Bulgaria 5-2
England beat Uganda 7-0
Knock out
England lost to India 0-4 (quarter finals)
England lost to Kazakhstan 0-4 (5-8 positions)
England beat Brazil 4-0 (7-8 positions)
England girls team finished in 7th place.
Boys team results
Group stages
England beat Argentina 7-0
England beat Brazil 5-2
England beat Uganda 7-0
England beat India 5-2
Knock out
England beat North Macedonia 4-0 (quarter finals)
England lost to Romania 0-4 (semi-finals)
England lost to France (3-4 position)
England boys team finished in 4th place!
Individual singles and doubles:
Girls Singles
Erin Green – last 32 losing to Romanian Evelyn Ungvari.
Amy Marriott, Samadhi Udamulla and Lauren Loosemore – all lost in the preliminary knockout round.
Boys Singles
Poww Boonyaprapa – last 16 losing to Iulian Chirita of Romania (ranked No 5 under 17 in the World) 1-3, who went on to win the boys singles title.
Rhys Davies – last 16 losing to Aziz Zarehbin of USA, 2-3, fighting back from 0-2 down.
Oliver Cornish – last 32.
Bertie Kelly – preliminary round.
Girls Doubles
Erin Green & Amy Marriott – last 16, losing to a pair from Chinese Taipei who finished runners up in the doubles competition.
Samadhi Udamulla & Lauren Loosemore – last 32.
Boys Doubles
Rhys Davies & Poww Boonyaprapa – last 16, losing to a pair from the USA who reached the semi-finals.
Oliver Cornish & Bertie Kelly – last 32, losing to a pair from Chinese Taipei.
As an NPC it was a great experience to be involved in the event. I am very proud of all the players who represented the England teams. Well done!
Kate Hughes (May 2022).