On the 4th of December, we played the annual Town vs Gown tournament at Kidlington Forum Table Tennis Club. With the freshers bringing in some fresh vitality to the team in the new season, we had Nabil Hudda, Shailendra Singh Nama, Xi Dai and Pan Hu in the 1st team, with Jason Brickhill, Jean-François Ton, Justin Du and Zhongyi Hu in the 2nd team.
Despite Oxford having students coming from all over the world every year to challenge the local players, the Town’s team maintain an exceptionally high level throughout the years. Although Oxford men’s 1st team lost 2-10, the overall score does not reflect how intense the games were. Nabil and Shailendra battled hard against the top two players from Town, giving their best at every single point. However, the opponents ultimately proved too strong for them. Xi played beyond expectation to win one of the singles match and was leading 2-0 in the other, but unfortunately, his opponent was more consistent and came back to clinch the game. Pan partnered with Xi to win one of the doubles matches later on; it was only the lack of experience which cost us a 2-3 loss in another doubles match.
The men’s 2nd team definitely did not come 2nd in terms of actual ability. Led by two of our most experienced players, Jason and Jean-François, the team wowed with a 8-4 win. Especially noteworthy was Jean-François’ performance, who claimed both of his singles matches without losing a set, and won the two doubles when partnered with Jason and Justin respectively. Zhongyi and Justin were still not used to the match atmosphere, ultimately underachieving, however, they gained valuable match experience this time battling against the Town team.
All in all, we saw great team spirit on the day as we coached each other and cheered for one another. While Town vs Gown concluded Michaelmas Term, we look forward to realising our full potential in the matches in Hilary.
Last but not least, we thank the Kidlington Forum Table Tennis Club for hosting and making all of this possible. The long established connection between the students and residents is definitely an important one that all of us treasure.
Report by: Xi Dai Social secretary 2016-17
What about the ladies report ?
The report has now been updated with the women’s contribution as well 🙂