The casual 1st team bout began late due to the delay of the Warwick team and the loss of one of the two balls that the club seemed to own. However, the lost ball was soon recovered and play could begin.
In the early exchanges Birmingham fell behind, Club Captain Simon Price and 1st year Ziyi Yan (aka Ian) losing their initial games.
Ziyi, however, “was very awkward” (as an opponent), according to Warwick Captain Eddie Lyons, and this playing style saw him win 2 of his 3 later games. These victories, along with a win from Price, four wins from 1st captain Ronan Kelly and two from Kornchanok Patanavanichkul, also known as Ham, eventually led to Birmingham winning the day 10 games to 7.
The 10th victory, to those who’ve been adding up, came in a thrilling doubles match where Kelly and Yan edged out their Warwick opposition. These victories saw the Birmingham team come back well, after a 17-0 defeat in their previous fixture.
The events that took place at the Table tennis, other than the trampolining club practice held on the other side of the hall, where a ferocious mixture of friendship and fire. A huge range of profanity followed a missed serve or poor shot, whilst the players stopped and applauded a delicious forehand from Yan that had more spin than an Andrea Pirlo free-kick.
The man of the match award must go to Ronan Kelly, who won all 5 of the matches he participated in and showed some real class with delicate shots and ruthless smashes.
To conclude, Birmingham found their form and with some good play, just edged out an undeniably talented Warwick side. They will need further performances of such quality if they wish for further success in the Midlands 1A league.
