Hard-Fought Wins for Locals in Packed Rocky Open

Local players delivered strong performances across the ratings and age events at the recent Rockhampton Open Table Tennis Championships, which drew excellent attendance from clubs stretching from Mackay to the south. This year, the annual open tournaments in Rockhampton, Townsville, and Mackay served as northern qualifiers, with players from southern clubs required to travel north to remain in contention for state team selection.

The Chauvel Industrial Services ratings events featured plenty of tightly contested matches. All competitors were assigned ratings based on previous tournament results, with players grouped into divisions accordingly.

In the top division, local player Matthew Steffen reached the semi-finals before being defeated in four sets by Brisbane’s Jaden Cao, who went on to claim the title.

The second division had a stronger local presence, with Nick Green securing the title over club-mate Glen McDonald. Green narrowly edged past open-grade teammate Leo Lai 11–9 in the fifth set of their semi-final, while McDonald claimed a quality win over Peter Easling from Moreton Bay. Green and Lai then teamed up to take out the doubles title in this division, with the solid pairing of James and Linda O’Sullivan bowing out in the semi-finals.

In the third division, Chris Leitner (Rockhampton) justified his top seeding by claiming victory after navigating a long draw. He overcame Bundaberg’s rising star Cohen Sheather in four sets in the final. Locals Warun Wilkinson and Oliver Wright combined well in the doubles, clinching victory in a gripping five-set final against Bundaberg’s Sharon Jarvinen and Deleece McDonald, 11–8 in the decider.

The fourth division also featured strong local involvement. Hilton Kane made a great run to the final but was ultimately defeated by Mackay’s Oliver Hamelink. Fellow Rockhampton player Ian Coombe also performed well, making it to the semi-finals before falling to the eventual winner.

Some excellent matches featured in the Bolsover Radiology junior events. Promising local Judd Carr reached the semi-finals of the under-17 boys’ singles before being stopped by SEQ’s Brayden Kan, who went on to win the event. Carr’s teammate from the recent Queensland Junior Titles, Cooper Bulow, also showed flashes of brilliance across several events, though he didn’t reach any finals.

At the other end of the age spectrum, the veterans section provided no shortage of hard-fought contests. In the over-30 men’s singles, Leo Lai reached the semi-finals before bowing out. In the women’s event, Kelsey Pettett narrowly lost to UQ’s Melody Fung, 11–8 in the deciding fifth game. James O’Sullivan faced a tough opponent in Moreton Bay’s Bodo Rose—a former local competitor—losing in straight sets in the semi-finals of the over-40 men’s singles.

Former Rocky junior and now Brisbane club representative Clare Owen had an outstanding tournament, winning both the over-50 and over-60 women’s singles. In the over-40s, local Ann-Louise Stewart pushed Owen to four sets, while in the over-50s Owen clinched a narrow 12–10 win in the deciding fifth set against Jan Yu (Moreton Bay), who had earlier defeated local hope Monica Deeth in the semis.

Rockhampton’s Gerard Watts also made a solid showing, reaching the semi-finals of the over-65 men’s singles before losing to eventual winner Geoff Lamberton (Gold Coast). Watts also featured in the over-70 men’s singles, where he was edged out 11–9 in a thrilling five-set match by Gold Coast’s Tommy Samuelsson.