Saintfield’s Paul spins his way to National U-21 title

Saintfield’s Paul spins his way to National U-21 title

3 July 2013

SAINTFIELD’S Paul McCreery continues to play his way up the international ladder after securing a series of Grand Prix wins to confirming his arrival at the top end of UK table tennis.

Based at Nottingham University, where he is completing a degree in Chemical Engineering, Paul frequently returned home to Ireland over the past 12 months and competed in the Irish Senior Classification in August, the Leinster and Connacht Opens in November, the Fermanagh Open in February and the Irish Championship.

In the Irish Championship he secured men’s singles, men’s doubles, mixed doubles and U-21s all on the same day, again confirming his position as Ireland’s leading player.

The Irish Table Tennis Association recently rewarded him with the Rhanbuoy Trophy for senior male player of the year for 2013 in recognition of his achievements.

In May he travelled to Delhi, India, leading Northern Ireland to eighth place in the Commonwealth Championships — their highest ever placing — in preparation for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014.

In England, on their Grand Prix circuit, Paul had a stunning year, winning the Liverpool and Cardiff Mens titles plus numerous U-21 events across the country and he finished as U-21 National Grand Prix Champion and also finished third in the National Men’s Championships.

For Ireland in the 6 Nations Championships in November, he successfully led them to second place in the team event. He also travelled to Paris, representing Ireland in the World Men’s Championships in May.

Back in Nottingham at the annual National University Championships, he remained unbeaten whilst the University team finished in second place overall.

Throughout the season Paul played in the fiercely competitive Premier Division of Senior British League for Sycamore finishing in second place.

His training programme is based at Grantham where many of the Elite UK players are based and his skills on the table continue to shine with the quality of training partners available to him.

Paul is delighted to be back in County Down for a well deserved holiday break among his friends and he looks forward to the challenges the new season brings.

The next 12 months are extremely exciting with the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow the big target and the hunger for places is building among the Ulster squad.