2 days ago
Arklow table tennis ace bridges 15-year gap to last title
And it's not any old title, either, but one that traces its history back to the 1940s. Fair to say Arklow-based table-tennis player Erwin de Zwarte can take a well-earned bow.
de Zwarte was already a three-time champion in the Open Singles competition at the Bray and District Table Tennis Championships three times, so he is certainly a local legend of the sport, but with his last title claimed well back in 2010, the chances of winning for a fourth time may have looked remote to casual observers.
But de Zwarte, who plays for Carrickmines-based Wayside Table Tennis Club, rolled back the years in the most comprehensive manner possible; not only did he win the Open Singles title, he bagged two more to go with it.
'I managed to reach the finals as well two years ago, but I lost 3-2,' he told The Wicklow People and The Bray People. 'Every now and then, however, you have one of those nights when everything comes together.'
And what a night it was.
Beating club colleague Seán Woods in a deciding set – a set he won 11-8 from 5-8 down – would have been reward enough. But on a night dominated by Wayside, he paired with Woods to take the Men's Doubles title. Furthermore, he combined with Arklow's Ilona Siuda – the only non-Wayside player involved on finals night – to claim the Mixed Doubles crown.
Not bad for someone who started playing table tennis in his native Rotterdam almost 50 years ago.
