Gary Young marked his return to the Braintree Table Tennis League by grabbing the ultimate prize, the open singles title, at the league’s finals night at the weekend.

It marked a long, and interrupted, journey since his last finals night appearance as runner-up in the restricted singles in 1999.

It was shortly after that event that he set out to improve by going to a number of training camps with leading international players and attended numerous tournaments. Within five years he won the men’s singles in the Clacton League.

That he has pretty much retained that standard was clear from his performances at the weekend where he overcame two stubborn opponents, Aron Jordan in the semi-final and Luke Burridge in the final.

Jordan’s pimple bat initially gave him some problems and the Sudbury player took the first game comfortably. Young hit back to take the second and the turning point came in the third game.

Jordan again seemed on course for a surprise win but Young staged a comeback from 7-9 to win 11-9 and then took the fourth relatively straightforwardly.

The final was even more straightforward. Burridge, who had beaten Alistair Hill in five games in a fluctuating semi-final, lit up proceedings with some of the forceful smashes that had put out top seed Paul Davison in the quarter-final but he generally looked overawed by the occasion and Young eased to the title.

It was one three victories. He never allowed Ken Lewis to settle in the over 50s final. Although Lewis staged something of a rally in the third game when hits that had missed the table in the first two started to go on, the result never looked in doubt.

By contrast there was distinct doubt about his third title, the men’s doubles, where he and Davison were odds-on favourites.

Lewis was at the other end again and he and Karl Baldwin threatened a major upset. With admirable control and several unexpected shots, they took the first two games. But the Netts pairing eventually clicked into gear and took the final three games comfortably.

Young’s haul of titles was bettered by both Alesha Ellis-Austin and Ethan Collins, who each won a total of five events.

Ellis-Austin, who won four events the previous weekend, provided the only upset of the evening when she overcame top seed Matthew Brown in the restricted singles.

Brown had lost only once in 57 outings in division two and had beaten Ellis-Austin less than a month earlier. And all appeared to be going to plan when he strolled through the first game 11-3.

But Ellis-Austin upped her game after the change of ends and forced Brown back into a more defensive mode the longer the match went on. She was fearless with her hitting even when on the brink of going two games down at deuce in the second, grew in confidence after that and won the next two as well.

Ethan Collins, who also won his first four titles the previous weekend, never appeared in any danger in the junior boys’ singles. His probe and smash game was too much for James Howard. The Netts player showed some neat touches of his own but not enough to worry Collins, who became the youngest ever winner of the title, at the age of just ten.

Ellis-Austin was on the losing side in one event, the mixed doubles. She and Rev Matthews had to give second best to Natalie Dodd and Adam Cuthbert but as two second division players against a first division regular and a player surely destined to be in division one next season, this was to be expected.

What was not expected was the fight they put up. Dodd and Cuthbert had the greater all-round control and the snappier hits, but the Notley pair were not to be outdone and produced some classy winners of their own.

They hit back to take the second game after losing the first and only succumbed narrowly 11-9, 11-9 in the third and fourth

Like Ellis-Austin, Young was also denied a clean sweep. He and Netts A teammate Paul Davison produced the tightest match of the evening in the veterans’ singles final.

With similar styles and seemingly able to attack from anywhere on the court, they traded blows before Davison just held on to take the title, his sixth in seven attempts, at 11-8 in the fifth game.

Results

Open singles final: Gary Young beat Luke Burridge 3-0 (11-6, 11-3, 11-7); semi-finals: Young beat Aron Jordan 3-1 (6-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-4); Burridge beat Alistair Hill 3-2 (7-11, 14-12, 8-11, 11-5, 11-7).

Men’s doubles: Young & Paul Davison beat Karl Baldwin & Ken Lewis 3-2 (8-11, 10-12, 11-5, 11-2, 11-5)

Over 50s singles: Young beat Lewis 3-0 (11-3, 11-4, 11-6)

Veterans’ singles: Davison beat Young 3-2 (11-9, 7-11, 6-11, 11-7, 11-8)

Junior singles: Ethan Collins beat James Howard 3-0 (11-3, 11-4, 11-5)

Restricted singles: Alesha Ellis-Austin beat Matthew Brown 3-1 (3-11, 15-13, 11-7, 11-6)

Mixed doubles: Natalie Dodd & Adam Cuthbert beat Ellis-Austin & Rev Matthews 3-1 (11-5, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9)