Ben Piggott and Rebecca Savage took the top spots at the Mark Bates Ltd National Championships Qualifying Tournament.

There was plenty at stake on day two at David Ross Sports Village in Nottingham, with 14 men and 14 women set to book their places at the Nationals ‘proper’ at the same venue in March.

Click here to see the women’s results
Click here to see the men’s results

Photos by Michael Loveder, Table Tennis England Official Photographer

Click here to browse photos on the PhotoShelter platform

Men’s Singles

Ben Piggott lived up to top seeding as he saw off second seed Toby Ellis 3-0 (11-8, 11-5, 11-3) to seal the first qualifying spot.

There were plenty of recent WTT youth medal-winners in the 14 as Rohan Dani, Isaac Kingham, Max Radiven and Abraham Sellado all made the cut.

The finishing order of the top 14 who qualify for the Nationals was:

1 Ben Piggott, 2 Toby Ellis, 3 Joseph Hunter, 4 Rohan Dani, 5 Isaac Kingham, 6 Victor Guang Shi, 7 Max Radiven, 8 Robert Pelc, 9 Jakub Piwowar, 10 Abraham Sellado, 11 Adam Dennison, 12 Nahom Asgedom, 13 Krish Chotai, 14 Bryan Kwan.

The day’s first round was crucial, with the winners all but securing a place at the Nationals – 14 of the 16 winners would definitely go on to qualify.

Zac Greenhough had unexpectedly got through from fifth position in the rankings of Group 2, and he mounted a fine comeback against Isaac Kingham as he looked to continue his good run. However, Kingham managed to hold him off in the fifth to secure a 3-2 (11-4, 13-11, 8-11, 4-11, 11-7) victory.

Fourth seed Olly Cornish was defeated 3-1 (11-9, 11-7, 11-13, 11-8) by 13th seed Joseph Dennison, while the third seed Maxim Stevens also lost in the first round, Bryan Kwan completing a 3-2 (11-5, 8-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-5) win.

Second seed Ellis had a see-saw clash with Gabriel Schogger before winning 3-2 (11-5, 3-11, 2-11, 11-7, 11-2), and the other match to go the distance saw Abraham Sellado defeat Leo Nguyen 3-2 (11-5, 7-11, 11-4, 8-11, 11-2).

Gabriel Achampong, a frequent presence at the Nationals in recent years, was defeated in three by Victor Guang Shi.

The next ‘jeopardy’ matches were those for the bracket of 13th to 16th in the penultimate round of the day, with the winners guaranteed to qualify and the losers having to wait and see – athletes who finished in 15th place downwards may still get into the Nationals in the event of anyone withdrawing, or as doubles partners for those who have secured their place.

In the event, one of the men’s matches was a non-event, with Joseph Langham- Ferreira having pulled out through injury in the previous round – he would end up in 16th.

In the other big clash, it was Kwan who booked his place with a fine 3-2 (11-5, 5-11, 13-11, 7-11, 11-9) win over Joseph Dennison.

Among the other notable matches earlier in the day, Nathaniel Saunders was edged out 14-12 in the fifth by Nguyen in the second round of the day and, at the same stage, Umair Mauthoor defeated Luke Greenfield 11-9 in the fifth and Stevens overcame Adam Jepson 11-8 in the decider.

In the third round of matches, Nahom Asgedom held off Kwan 11-8 in the fifth and it was 11-6 in the decider for Sellado against Krish Chotai. Cornish was pegged back from 2-0 up to 2-2 by Greenhough but Cornish took the fifth 11-1.

In the fourth round, Ellis booked his place in the play-off for first and second positions with a 3-2 (8-11, 11-6, 6-11, 12-10, 13-11) win in a feisty clash with Hunter, in which both players received yellow cards.

Guang Shi beat Robert Pelc 12-10 in the fifth, while Achampong came from 2-0 down to beat Mauthoor, Schogger beat Nguyen in the fifth and Saunders saw off Fred Jones in a decider.

The final round saw Onweng beat Mauthoor 11-9 in the fifth – the closest of the matches. There were also wins in deciding games for Achampong over Stevens, Ryan Choong against Nguyen and Cornish against Kacper Piwowar.

Women’s Singles

Second seed Rebecca Savage held off a determined comeback by Sophie Ackred to take top spot.

The final showdown finished 3-2 (11-4, 15-13, 7-11, 8-11, 11-8) in Savage’s favour. The final list of the 14 athletes who qualified was:

1 Rebecca Savage, 2 Sophie Ackred, 3 Holly Holder, 4 Mya Sultan, 5 Alyssa Nguyen, 6 Luna Archard, 7 Maliha Baig, 8 Millie Noble, 9 Sally Hughes, 10 Mabel Shute, 11 Evie Knaapen, 12 Lauren McIndoe, 13 Darcie Proud, 14 Anna Piercey.

With Megan Shackleton and Brooke Morris unable to get back to the venue because of bad weather, 30 women were competing for qualification.

The crucial first round saw some tight matches, including Kelsey Fordham’s 3-2 (10-12, 11-9, 11-7, 6-11, 11-9) victory over Akshita Subramanium and Mya Sultan’s 3-2 (8-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-8, 11-8) win over fourth seed Bethany Ellis.

Paralympic medallist Fliss Pickard came close to upsetting third seed Saskia Key, before the latter prevailed 3-2 (11-9, 9-11, 11-5, 8-11, 11-5).

But the closest match of all was Holly Holder’s 3-2 (11-6, 11-9, 9-11, 12-14, 12-10) success against Maisha Patel.

Fast forward to the crucial matches in the bracket for 13th to 16th positions, and Darcie Proud secured her spot with a win in three (8, 7, 9) over Fordham.

The other match took four games to decide a winner, and it was Anna Piercey who beat Key 11-6, 8-11, 11-3, 11-7.

Notable matches in round two were headlined by Anaiya Ali’s 17-15 in-the-fifth win over Kelly Skeggs, while Holly Holder withstood a comeback by Evie Knaapen to win 3-2 (11-9, 11-8, 10-12, 4-11, 12-10). There was also a tight match between Proud and Mille Noble, won 11-8 in the fifth by Noble.

In the third round, Knaapen made sure of her place in the top 12 by defeating Piercey 3-2 (11-9, 3-11, 8-11, 12-10, 11-5), saving three match points in the fourth, though the closest match was in the bracket for positions 1-8, where Holder defeated Alyssa Nguyen 3-2 (7-11, 12-10, 10-12, 11-5, 14-12). In the same bracket, Savage came from behind to beat Maliha Baig 3-2 (10-12, 11-7, 7-11, 11-8, 11-7).

Sarah Horsnell and Pickard had a good match, which finished 3-2 (9-11, 16-14, 4-11, 11-5, 11-2) in Horsnell’s favour, while Catharine Cody edged Stefania Popa 3-2 (10-12, 11-7, 9-11, 13-11, 11-8).

In the fourth round, Subramanium overturned a 2-0 deficit to defeat Molly Brown, winning it 11-9 in the fifth, the same scoreline by which Ali beat Pickard in their decider.

It was 12-10 in the fifth for Cody over Eva Eccles and there was also a five-set win for Luna Archard over Noble.

Aside from Savage’s win over Ackred, there were plenty of other five-game matches in the final round, including a comeback from 2-0 down by Baig to beat Noble, and wins for Hughes over Mabel Shute and Nguyen over Archard.

Knaapen beat McIndoe in the fifth and Horsnell came from 2-0 down to beat Cody, while it was 12-10 in the fifth as Popa completed a comeback from 2-0 down to beat Ali. Skeggs defeated Subramanium in the fifth.