Cippenham Series 6

Created by Graham Trimming

an accredited ETTA EXCELLENCE PremierClub

Double for Wuraola

England’s top ranked veteran player scooped two of the major cash prizes when the Cippenham Series, a season long series of open tournaments, culminated over the late May bank holiday weekend. As might be expected for a player of his pedigree, Wuraola was unbeatable in the veteran men’s event, winning all three tournaments during the season. For the senior men’s Series title he had to work a little harder. Wuraola, having missed the opening event in August, won both the second and fourth events but had to settle for runners-up position in the other two. That included the latest tournament in which he succumbed to sixth seed Patrick Thomas in the final. After dropping the first game of that final, the exciting young Welsh prospect swept aside the challenge of his older opponent to win 9-11, 11-9, 11-1, 11-3.

However, reaching the final was enough for Wuraola to win the overall Series title. He had started the weekend in second place to Neil Charles, winner of the first and third tournaments. Charles was also top seed at the weekend but fell surprisingly to Keith Lesser in the first knock-out round. Lesser then went down against Thomas in the quarter-final. In the semi-finals Thomas accounted for eighth seed Joe Chacholiades while Wuraola ended the run of third seed Koji Hirota.

Best performance from a local player again came from Rafique Sarhadi. Rafique’s results in the Series this season have been very consistent. He has reached at least the quarter-final round in each of the four tournaments he played and this was enough to earn him fifth place in the final points table. Neil Wright, a regular visitor to Cippenham from Wales, also showed great consistency, also never leaving an event before the quarter-final, and this record that also included two runners-up positions over the five tournaments, earned him the third-place prize.

Jurate Brazaityte, winner of three of the four previous events, had already secured the overall senior women’s Series title before the final event. Therefore it did not matter that she fell in the semi-final to her Kent colleague Jasmin Ould. Ould then went on to win the final against Ikue Humphrey, who had enjoyed an earlier win in the preliminary round group against Brazaityte, and elevate herself to second place in the Series above Julie Furber.

Wuraola was hardly troubled en route to his hat-trick of wins in the veteran men’s event. His only dropped game came in the preliminary round group against Gerry Hawkins. After that he eased past Paul Baker in the quarters and Dave Bowles in the semi-final before despatching second seed John Payne 11-3, 11-7, 11-8 in the final. Payne had nearly succumbed to Baker in the group, having to save two match points before finally winning 12-10 in the fifth. After that it became a little easier as he saw off the challenges of brothers Ramesh and Hari Gehlot both in straight games.

Cippenham’s Sue Hayes was another who had already secured her Series title in the veteran women’s before the weekend. However, she made it three out of three ifroma small field with Denise Weller runner-up on the day and Margaret Thornton runner-up in the Series.

The tournament was organized by Paul Baker and refereed by Ken Phillips.

Link to results of open tournaments

Men’s finalists: (left) Abdul Wuraola