Strong Showing from Rockhampton Contingent at Queensland Veteran Table Tennis Championships

Kelsey Pettett made the most of her debut at the Queensland Veteran Table Tennis Championships, returning home with an impressive haul of one gold and two silver medals. Competing in the over-30 division for the first time, Pettett played excellently to win the women’s singles title, defying her third seeding to defeat Townsville’s second-seeded Crismi Lovera in a hard-fought final.

This year’s tournament—the state’s largest annual table tennis event—was staged at the South Pine Sports Centre in Brendale, Moreton Bay. Over 200 players competed across four full days of action, with 30 tables set up on full-sized courts to accommodate the jam-packed schedule.

Earlier in the carnival, Pettett partnered with Sharon Holden of Cairns in the team event, where she lost just one rubber on the way to a well-earned silver medal. She also joined forces with Gold Coast’s Morgan Barnett in the mixed doubles, claiming another silver medal after a spirited 3-1 semifinal win over Townsville’s Venkat Vangaveti and Jeraine Sebastian. They were ultimately outplayed in the final by top seeds Andy Nguyen (Gold Coast) and Ha Bui (Bundaberg).

Capping off her standout performance, Pettett was selected for the Queensland over-30 women’s team to compete at the national veterans’ titles, which will also be held at the Moreton Bay venue this October.

Veteran campaigner Pam Clarke also enjoyed a successful tournament in her first year competing in the over-70 division, having previously participated in multiple age categories since her initial entry as an over-40 player many years ago. Clarke was once again selected for a Queensland state team, this time in an upper-age group. She earned bronze medals in the over-65 team event alongside Brisbane’s Robyn Hayes, and in the over-70 mixed doubles with Peter Spratley of Bundaberg. The pair bowed out to the eventual champions. Clarke added another bronze in the over-70 women’s singles and reached the semifinals in the over-65 singles before being knocked out by the eventual winner.

Another first-time Q-Vets participant, James O’Sullivan, weathered a turbulent introduction in the over-60 team competition before bouncing back with stronger results in the individual events. He claimed a bronze medal in the over-60 men’s singles and came close to medalling again in the over-50 bracket, falling one round short. In doubles, he teamed with Bundaberg stalwart John Fourro and the pair narrowly missed a spot in the over-60 final, edged out by the formidable Logan-based duo of Vincent Tjoe and Eric Hsiao.

Former local standouts Barry Hare and Gerard Watts joined forces in the upper-age doubles events, collecting bronze in the over-70 men’s doubles. The experienced pair also made a strong push in the over-65 category but narrowly missed out on a podium finish.

Warun Wilkinson represented Rockhampton in the highly competitive over-50 team event and associated singles and doubles competitions. While he didn’t come away with any medals this year, Wilkinson will bring his experience earned at the competition back to weekly fixtures and the upcoming Closed Championships.