Young guns riding high

TABLE TENNIS: THE juniors of Union ‘E’ bulldozed their way to the Oldham and District Table Tennis League Division Four title without losing a match.

Alex Darlington (78 per cent win rate), Sophie Newton (72 per cent), Dragomir Stativ (85 per cent) and Josh Hudson (67 per cent) have carried all before them. The quartet also formed the Oldham team that claimed the Lancashire and Cheshire League Junior Division One crown.

The other all-junior team, Unison ‘F’, Jacob Sharp (96 per cent), Will Lamb (68 per cent) and Jamal Akhter (34 per cent), have all experienced league table tennis for the first time and are close to bagging runners-up spot in Division Five. It will come down to their last game of the campaign against fellow promotion-hopefuls Deaf ‘C’.

On an individual front, Darlington has clinched the Oldham junior and Greater Manchester Schools titles, and has also represented the North-West in his age group. Newton has won the North-West Cadet Girls competition, as well as playing for Lancashire girls and Oldham women’s teams.

Jack Dunning, of Uppermill has also enjoyed an exceptional season. With an 84 per cent win rate in Division Four, he has helped his team mount a challenge for third place. He is also a member of the Oldham junior team.

The final matches of the season will take place this week, with promotion and relegation issues to be decided.