by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Manager
Seasoned internationals Carlos Machado and Galia Dvorak won the respective Men’s Singles and Women’s Singles events, the former for no less than the eleventh time, the latter for the sixth occasion.
At the final hurdle, Galia Dvorak accounted for Ana Garcia (12-10, 11-7, 11-6, 11-6), having at the semi-final stage overcome Alba Fernandez (11-6, 11-2, 11, 11-7); in the corresponding penultimate round contest, Ana Garcia had beaten Sara Ramirez (11-8, 11-9, 11-8, 11-6).
Impressive from Galia Dvorak; it was the same from Carlos Machado. At the semi-final stage he defeated Endika Diez (11-8, 11-7, 11-5, 7-11, 11-7), prior to overcoming Marc Duran to seal the title (11-5, 11-4, 9-11, 11-7, 11-6). In the opposite half of the draw, Marc Duran had booked his place in the final courtesy of success against Oriol Monzo (15-13. 11-2, 11-7, 7-11, 11-4).
Disappointment for Marc Duran but there was success; he partnered Oriol Monzo to Men’s Doubles gold, the pair beating Carlos Franco and Miguel Angel Vilchez at the final hurdle (11-8, 11-9, 11-9).
Similarly there was more than compensation for Sara Ramirez; she partnered Raquel Bonilla to the top prize in the Women’s Doubles competition. At the final hurdle the pair accounted for Claudia Caymel and Zhang Xuan (11-7, 4-11, 12-10, 11-9).
Meanwhile, Cajasur Priego TM represented by Alejandro Calvo, André Coelho da Silva, Diogo Ferreira, Carlos Machado and José Luis Machado, won the King’s Cup Team event, finishing ahead of DKV Borges Vall, who selected from Josep Lluis Andrade, Fan Chuangwei, Marc Duran and Oriol Monzo.
Success for Cajasur Priego TM, in the counterpart Queen’s Cup it was success for the Girbau Vic TT outfit of Claudia Caymel, Ana Garcia, Nerea Garcia, Wang Tingting and Xia Ni. Balaguer Villart Logistic finished in the silver medal position. They were represented by Svetlana Bakhtina, Anna Biscarri, Claudia Cejas, Gemma lladonosa and Natalys Prosvirina.
The podium in the Men’s Singles event (Photo: courtesy of the Royal Spanish Table Tennis Federation)
2018 Spanish National Championships: Roll of Honour (Major Individual Events)
2018 Spanish National Championships: Results (King’s Cup and Queen’s Cup)