All-Shetland table tennis final in Aberdeen as trophies return to isles
TWO SHETLANDERS returned from an Aberdeen table tennis event with trophies after a strong showing from the isles contingent.
An all-Shetland final saw young Connor Burgess and Joan Smith meet in the final of the Watt Cup at the north confined tournament in Aberdeen Sports Village last weekend.
Those two and Piotr Drozdowski were in attendance, with Drozdowski qualifying for the AU Shield.
Drozdowski made an excellent start, defeating Manmeet Randhawa 3–0, Inniyan Jayaraj 3–1 and Norval Strachan 3–0.
These victories secured him a place in the quarter-finals, where he faced rising talent James Tait.
Despite a strong performance, Drozdowski narrowly lost 11–9 in the deciding fifth set.
In the Watt Cup, Burgess progressed confidently through the group stages by winning three matches 3–0.
He continued his dominant form in the knockout rounds, defeating Brian Smith 3–0 in the quarter-finals and Yuechen Low 3–1 in the semi-finals to reach the final.
Smith also impressed, advancing from the group stage with three wins. She went on to beat Douglas Seller 3–0 in the quarter-finals and Dick Bird 3–1 in the semi-finals.
For the first time ever an all-Shetland final was guaranteed, with Burgess and Smith set to face each other.
Unlike their previous encounters, where Burgess had secured comfortable 3–0 wins, Smith adopted a more aggressive approach and led 2–1 in sets.
However, Burgess’ strong serves, consistent returns, and attacking play proved decisive, as he claimed the final two sets to secure a well-deserved victory and lift the Watt Cup.
In the afternoon session, Burgess competed in both the under-15 and under-19 events, gaining valuable experience in both.
Drozdowski competed in the veterans 40+ event in the afternoon, recording convincing 3–0 wins over Ade Adekola and Margaret Anderson.
Despite a defeat Drozdowski advanced to the quarter-finals, where he met Manmeet Randhawa again. This time, Randhawa reversed the earlier result, winning a close match 3–2.
This was a strong showing from Drozdowski, who only began playing a few years ago and is already making an impact on the Scottish circuit.
Smith competed in the veterans over-60 event, where she topped her group with three 3–0 victories.
She continued her impressive run by defeating Douglas Seller 3–0 in the quarter-finals and George Main 3–2 in a closely contested semi-final.
In the final, Joan faced reigning champion Mitch Reid. After trailing 2–1 in sets, she fought back to level at 2–2.
In a dramatic deciding set Smith was behind 10–6, but showed remarkable determination to win six consecutive points and claim a 12–10 victory and the over-60 title.
Shetland Table Tennis said that, with 11 wins from 12 matches, Smith can be extremely proud of her performance and that all three gave an outstanding showing.
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