Sandpaper Seniors at the Ping Pong World Cup

January 5, 2024

Sponsored by Mecano Sports, presented by Caliente.mx, sanctioned by ICTTF

(by Larry Hodges, photo by Larry Hodges: “Senior Finalist Steve Claflin and Champion John Sabalik”)

There were two groups of five, with the top three advancing to the money rounds. All other players advanced to the Consolation brackets.

In Group 1, the fourth seed, Sergio Blanco (MEX), in the first match of the round robin, upset the event’s top seed, Alexis Perez (USA), 13-15, 15-13, 15-6. Alexis, who had played four matches earlier in the Sandpaper Open, decided to default the event due to exhaustion. Then, for reasons unknown (though I’m told fatigue had something to do with some of these), Albair De Camargo (BRA) defaulted to Sergio, while Sergio defaulted to fifth seed Jimmy Shen (USA). This left Sergio and Albair both at 3-1. Since Sergio had defeated Albair (via default), Sergio advanced in first, Albair in second, with tournament director Steve Claflin finishing third.

In Group 2, things were slightly more ordinary, with top seed John Sabalik (DEN) winning all his matches 2-0, with nobody getting more than 11 in a game. Adolf Hutti CZE) and David Tiplady (ENG) both went 2-2 (with Hutti losing to the fifth seed, USA’s Dave Fullen), but since Hutti won head to head against David (7-15, 15-9, 15-11), he advanced in second, David in third.

Semifinals

In the quarterfinals, Steve Claflin (USA) d. Adolf Hutti (CZE), 15-12,12-15, 15-5. I put this in because in the semifinals, Steve got a default from Sergio Blanco (MEX), who I’m told almost went to the hospital from exhaustion. Yes, sandpaper rallies are that long.
John Sabalik (DEN) d. Albair De Camargo (BRA), 15-12, 15-8.

Final

After finishing third in his group, tournament director Steve Claflin (USA) put things together and had fought his way to the final against John Sabalik (DEN). John’s a schoolteacher in Denmark, teaching Danish Literature and Sports to tenth graders. He normally uses sponge but practiced exclusively with sandpaper for six weeks in advance of the tournament. Like many Europeans, he speaks many languages – Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, and some German and Spanish.

Steve took a quick 5-1 lead in the first – could he run away with it? But as a coach, I saw what happened the rest of the way – John went after Steve’s forehand, especially serving there (to get away from Steve’s strong backhand receive), and he tied it up 5-5, and won the first, 15-9. But if Steve’s forehand gets a little more consistent, game two might be closer – and it was in game two. Steve again led, this time 12-9, three points away from forcing a third. But it was not to be as John scored five in a row, and wins, 15-13. So it’s $500 to John, $250 to Steve, and $150 to the two semifinalists.

Visit ButterflyOnline.com for the latest table tennis news and results.