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China vs London Progresse
8-Nov-2006
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In ten days time London Progress go head to head with a formidable team of highly talented Chinese players, the latest, Sun Jin, being a former Olympic silver medallist. Three Chinese stars line up for Oxford Fireplace courtesy of the highly successful Bristol Academy in the forthcoming Battle of the British League'. Put simply, if Oxford win the encounter, they are as good as British Champions, ending an amazing eight year run by London Progress. If Progress were to defeat the Chinese and come out unscathed against some very talented players from Ormseby, Ellenborough and Barnet, the title race would be wide open with games average likely to be the deciding factor.
Some have questioned the value of the Oxford team basing its success on the power of the Chinese, and some have even questioned the legitimacy of the Bristol Academy in providing those players. But for London Progress, it will be just another day in the office. The Londoners have always said it will be a good team that takes the title from them and who can argue that the team assembled by the Bristol Academy, including the highly combative Gavin Rumgay are anything but good. Admittedly it might have been more exciting for the British League had it been the young home-grown stars of Ormesby or Darlington that had seized the title from Progress, but in this age of international sport, that prospect has become increasingly unlikely. London Progress themselves have made good use of international players over the past eight years in their pursuit of glory.
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London Progress manager, Jon Kaufman, said he felt quite relaxed at the prospect of relinquishing the title and even hinted that it might be something of a relief to be free of the burden of endlessly defending the top spot. He further hinted that the loss of the title might offer the club the opportunity to rebuild the team around some excellent youngsters, Matt Ware, Ashley Stokes, Richard Marshell and Garth Kinlocke being some of the names in the frame. |
However the highly experienced team of Jason Sugrue, Colum Slevin, Terry Young, Marco Essomba and Darren Blake were adamant that they would not surrender the title without a determined fight. All five players are seasoned campaigners and, as good as the Chinese players are, they will know they have been in a fight to the finish. |
In other news from Progress, the club was celebrating the qualification of three new Level 2 coaches, Anthony Small, Laikram Pursaud and Hewley Griffith, and the initial success of Jason Sugrue and Bhavin Savjani on their way to Level 3 qualification. These recent additions to the coaching world brings the London Progress coaching squad to a formidable team of twenty, each coach bringing with them their own experiences and unique contributions to the new generation of Progress stars.
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There is no doubt that if a youngster from the West London area and beyond wants to improve their table tennis, London Progress in conjunction with Active Ealing, Brentford FC and the Southall Sports Centre, is the place to be.
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| Jon Kaufman |
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