Table Tennis: European Veteran Championships

Table Tennis: European Veteran Championships

Irishmen are European Champions 
The European Veterans Championships took place in Rotterdam over the weekend, where two Irishmen came home with Gold medals. Dubliner, Colum Slevin, Irelands leading player for the past twenty five years pulled off an amazing feat winning the Over 40s Singles and Doubles titles, while Corkman, Bertie Levinge won the Over 80’s Doubles title.

In the Over 40’s Singles event won all his matches.  In the Final he beat Mircea Nicorescu, France 11-6, 14-16, 11-3, 11-6 to pull off a fantastic victory and become the European Champion for the first time. There were over four hundred competitors from all over Europe entered for this event and to win it while dropping only three sets against top class opposition shows the form that Colum Slevin was in over this weekend.

In the Over 40s Doubles Slevin teamed up with Carsten Egeholt of Denmark. They won all their matches beating Miroslav Cecva / Jiri Vojtek of Czech Republic 11-4, 8-11, 11-7, 11-4. So Colum Slevin completed a fantastic weekend by adding the European Doubles Title to the Singles title. 

Meanwhile a man almost twice Slevin’s age has done it again. Bertie Levinge, from Kinsale has won the Over 80s Doubles event, teaming up with Curt Osterholm of Sweden.In the final they beat Lumir Ruzha / Rune Forsberg of Czech / Sweden, 8-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-8.  This is Levinge’s third European gold medal as he won the doubles last year and also won the Over 75 Doubles a number of years ago.

In the Over 80’s Singles event Bertie won all his group matches and then met Andre Joing of France where he lost out after a great battle 11-8, 6-11, 11-4,  4-11, 9-11.

For Further Information: Contact:  Michael Healy 085 1743970