by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor

Success for Jack Stockdale, a result that bodes well for Great Britain; at the final hurdle, he overcame colleague, Lawrence John (8-11, 11-8, 8-11, 13-11, 11-4) to claim the title.

“I really enjoyed my first ever international tournament representing Great Britain; especially getting the chance to play in the final. I feel like I have learned a lot already. I played well throughout the tournament and got even better towards the end. It was very nice to come away with gold and I can’t wait to play another international tournament. I was nervous at the start but with the support of the team and the right attitude I was able to bring it together and keep the same high intensity throughout. Overall, it was a very good experience”, Jack Stockdale

Defeat for Lawrence John who is from Wales, as opposed to Jack Stockdale who hails from Romford in south east England but the Welshman was not dismayed. Most certainly, he is looking forward to the four day Lignano Masters Open which commences on Wednesday 1st March.

“I enjoyed my first international tournament back this year. I felt I played well throughout the tournament, keeping a good intensity from the first match to the last. My game felt stronger as I progressed and it was a good experience to play against a teammate in the final. I’m looking forward to now playing the senior event and I’m going in having learned from the U23 event and taking on board how I played”, Lawrence John

Gold for Jack Stockdale and Lawrence John; it was bronze for Dan Bullen and Tamlan Eastwood, also members of the British Pathway squad, a group of aspiring young players.

Dan Bullen was beaten by eventual silver medallist Sam Roelofs of the Netherlands at the semi-final stage of Men’s Singles Class 4-5 (5-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-8); at the final hurdle Sam Roelofs experienced defeat at the hands of Japan’s Kentaro Doi (11-7, 11-8, 14-12)..

“I have enjoyed the first international of the year. I played well in parts and I have learnt a lot that I can work on going forward before the Romania Open in a few weeks. I’ll go back to training now feeling motivated to get better”, Dan Bullen

Meanwhile, Tamlan Eastwood, like Lawrence John from Wales, finished in third position in Men’s Singles Class 9, an event organised on a group basis. Top place went to Malaysia’s Chee Chao Ming, with Kuwait’s Ali Alsanea in the silver medal position.

“I have learned a lot from my time in Italy and it has been a good experience. I feel that I played well throughout the tournament and have a lot of things to improve on”, Tamlan Eastwood.

Success for Great Britain; there were also successes for the host nation as well as for Croatia and Russia in the Men’s Singles events.

Matteo Orsi flew the flag for the host nation; competing in Class 1-3, in a group organised event, he finished ahead of Kuwait’s Yaqoub Alqasem and Croatia’s Nino Basa. Third place for Croatia, in Class 6, it was top spot; Pavao Jozic accounted for Germany’s Tim Laue at the final hurdle (4-11, 8-11, 11-3, 11-5, 11-8) to seize the top prize.

Success for Croatia in the form of Pavao Jozic; for Russia the top prize came in the guise of Artem Iakolev; he overcame Frenchman Elias Debeyssac in the final (11-6, 5-11, 11-8, 3-11, 11-5), to claim the highest step of the podium in Class 7-8.

Day Two: 2017 Lignano Para Junior Open: Draws and Latest Results