Chris Beckley won a gold medal for Britain at the 3 Nations German international Fire Open championships in Düsseldorf.

The competition made a return after the pandemic caused it to be cancelled last year. Host country Germany supplied almost 30 players and there were competitors from the UK and the Netherlands Fire & Rescue Services.

The Mixed Team and Doubles events were both won by German competitors, but the Open Mixed Singles saw two Brits and two Germans in the semi-finals.

Beckley won the final against Hans Jörg Raßhofer 13-11, 11-8, while there were bronze medals for Chris Elkin from the UK and for Germany’s Martin Warnken. The finallists are pictured above.

Beckley, who won the Male Volunteer of the Year at the Pride of Table Tennis Awards this year, said of his victory: “To say this was my most unexpected win and success in a tournament dominated by the Germans is an understatement and I was most thrilled and very happy to notch up an incredible streak of wins against a line-up of the best German firefighters – who in Europe have not only the best set up/organisation but a great collection of really good table tennis players.”

The below video tells the story of the event.