Battle to be Scottish ping pong champion

Tayside players land podium places and qualify for World Ping Pong Championships

The stars of Scottish ping pong shone in Dundee at the weekend as the city hosted the national championships.

And there were podium places for two Tayside players as Perth’s Gavin Rumgay successfully defended his Scottish Ping Pong champion title on Saturday.

He defeated Ian Johnstone from Dundee in the final match of the competition in Ward Road Gym.

Both players have now qualified for next year’s World Ping Pong Championships, which will take place at the Royal Alexandra Palace in London on January 26 and 27.

For those not in the know, ping pong is similar to table tennis but the bats use sandpaper instead of sponge between the wood and the rubber.

This means players cannot use as much spin and can lead to longer rallies.

This has led to a resurgence in the sport’s popularity. A field of 64 people entered Saturday’s competition and Rumgay and Johnstone were the two highest-ranked players.

Rumgay, who is currently ranked seventh in the world, is based in London where he works as a table tennis, badminton and tennis coach.

He is a former British Table Tennis Champion and 12-time Scottish National Table Tennis Champion.

Next year’s world championships will be the seventh event since the competition was created.

China’s Wang Shibo won one of the tournament’s closest ever finals to lift the 2018 title, defeating his compatriot Huang Jungang in front of a packed audience at Alexandra Palace, with a five-set score of 15-11, 13-15, 14-15, 15-13, 15-14.

Pictures: Kris Miller. Action from the Scottish Ping Pong Championships in Ward Road Gym.