Savage and Piggott earn top finishes at the Nationals qualifiers

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

There was a lot on the line on day two at David Ross Sports Village in Nottingham, with 14 men and 14 women set to 'own' their places for the Nationals at the same venue in March.

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Men's singles

Ben Piggott made good on the top spot as he saw off second seed Toby Ellis to seal the top qualifying spot.

There were many recent WTT youth medalists in the 14 as Rohan Dani, Isaac Kingham, Max Radiven and Abraham Sellado all made the cut.

The final order of the top 14 who qualified for 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 Jacob Piwowar, 10 Abraham Sealed, 11 Adam Dennison, 12 Nahom Asgedom, 13 ; Krish Chotai, 14 Bryan Kwan.

The first round of the day was crucial as the winners almost secured a place at Nationals. 14 of the 16 winners would definitely qualify.

Zac Greenhough had unexpectedly moved up from fifth in the Group 2 rankings, making a fine comeback against Isaac Kingham as he looked to continue his good run. However, Kingham managed to keep him at bay in the fifth, securing a 3-2 (11-4, 13-11, 8-11, 4-11, 11-7) win.

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

Second seed Ellis had a seesaw match with Gabriel Schogger before winning 3-2 (11-5, 3-11, 2-11, 11-7, 11-2), and in the other match that went the distance saw Abraham Sellado defeated 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 dangerous competitions were for 13th through 16th places in the penultimate round of the day, with the winners guaranteed to qualify and the losers having to wait and see that athletes who finished in 15th place would still be competing in the Nationals in the case of one who withdraws, or as double partners for those who have secured their place.

In the event, one of the men's events was a non-event as Joseph Langham-Ferreira had withdrawn in the previous round due to injury and would finish 16th.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) victory over Joseph Dennison.

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

In the third round, Nahom held off Asgedom Kwan 11-8 in the fifth and it was 11-6 in the decider for Sellado against Krish Chotai. Cornish was reduced from 2-0 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 the first and second positions with a 3-2 (8-11, 11-6, 6-11, 12-10, 13-11) victory in a tough match . 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 beat Fred Jones in a decider.

In the final round, Onweng defeated Mauthoor 11–9 in the fifth, the closest of the matches. There were also wins in decisive matches for Achampong over Stevens, Ryan Choong against Nguyen and Cornish against Kacper Piwowar.

Ladies singles

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

The final showdown ended 3-2 (11-4, 15-13, 7-11, 8-11, 11-8) in favor of Savage. 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, 13 Darciee, 12 Lauren Proud , 14 Anna Piercey.

With Megan Shackleton and Brooke Morris unable to return to the venue due to poor weather, 30 women competed for qualification.

The crucial first round featured a number of close 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) beating fourth seed Bethany Ellis.

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

But the best 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 battle for 13th to 16th positions, and Darcie Proud secured her spot with a win in three (8, 7, 9) over Fordham.

In the other match, four games were needed to determine the winner, and it was Anna Piercey who defeated Key 11-6, 8-11, 11-3, 11-7.

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

In the third round, Knaapen secured her place in the top 12 by beating Piercey 3-2 (11-9, 3-11, 8-11, 12-10, 11-5), putting her in the fourth round saved three match points. , although the closest match was in the category for positions 1-8, where Holder defeated Alyssa Nguyen 3-2 (7-11, 12-10, 10-12, 11-5, 14-12). In the same category, 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 ended 3-2 (9-11, 16-14, 4-11, 11-5, 11-2) in favor of Horsnell, while Catharine Cody Stefania Popa won 3- 2 (10) defeated. -12, 11-7, 9-11, 13-11, 11-8).

In the fourth round, Subramanium overturned a 2–0 deficit to beat Molly Brown, winning it 11–9 in the fifth, the same score by which Ali defeated 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 victories 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 when Popa made a comeback from 2-0 down to beat Ali. Skeggs defeated Subramanium in the fifth.