Batman Brian

A Blog by Brian Carson

27 May 2023

All opinions in this Blog are my own.

Part 2 of my trip was to Düsseldorf to play in the third PPP German Open, my second time at this competition. 

Travel

I have mentioned previously my anxiety about air travel and as this trip was not to or from the UK I was probably more anxious than usual. When I arrived at the train station at 05:30 to find all trains cancelled it did not help. However the train company were prepared and I was directed to a (train replacement) taxi with two other travellers and arrived on time for my flight.

At this point I would like to thank all of the Brexit voters out there for the added time and scrutiny you have introduced to European travel for UK citizens 🙁. A gift that keeps on giving! When I arrive anywhere from the UK I have to join very long queues and face additional scrutiny at customs because of my non-European passport. This was the case when I arrived in Sweden. However, when I arrived in Düsseldorf on a flight originating from Sweden I was waved through like royalty and was out of the airport within 15 minutes of landing! 

On arrival I met with Elizabeth Ildal from Denmark. We had both played in the Berlin Championships in 2021 but had not met other than through social media. We arranged to travel together to our hotels and subsequently arranged to have lunch and do some sightseeing in the afternoon as this may be our only chance to see some of the city before the competition started.

We had a nice afternoon together and I found Elizabeth to be  a formidable, focussed, and very likeable person who was a driving force in the organisation of the first PPP World Championship in New York in 2019. I followed her progress through this competition and she played very well in her first competition for two years winning silver medals in singles and doubles and a bronze medal in mixed doubles. 👏👏

The Arena

Late in the afternoon as more players arrived we answered a request to help set up the venue. This was our first look at the venue which is the home of the Borussia Düsseldorf TT Team. There was almost 40 tables in two halls and it looked very impressive and I couldn’t wait to play.

I did not have to wait long. The venue set up was all but complete and there was nothing for us to to and we took the opportunity for some practice before an early dinner in readiness for the competition beginning on Thursday

Player Rankings

The rankings and classifications were released earlier in the week and I was “reclassified” from class 2 last year into class 1 this year. I wrote to the organisers asking for this to be checked and changed back to class 2. The answer was that my rating merited the change. Last year in a class 2 group of 32 players I was in 5th position after round one, playing 6 matches using the Swiss system, and finished in third place after the knockout round having reached the semi finals. 

There is also a big increase in player numbers and most new players will start in class 3 necessitating players to move up classes to keep the groups balanced in numbers. The rankings put me at position 22 in class 1 which sounds respectable. However I have a rating of 1215 and the no 1 player has a rating of 1713, no 2 has 1524, and no 3 has 1510, the lowest is 1018 which is quite a spread if you discount some unrated players. I was not alone and there was at least 6 players new to class 1 this year.

PPP German Open Day 1

A relaxed start to the day as the competition start time was 2pm. We arrived mid morning to register and this was a great opportunity to catch up with other players as they arrived.

We had a very busy opening ceremony with lots of speeches from various dignitaries which lasted almost an hour. Not ideal to be sitting on benches for an hour immediately before competing when you have Parkinson’s, but this is part of the process and there was some update on the relationship with PPP and the German TT Federation, which has at times been fractious..

The competition commenced at 3pm with the singles competitions.

I played the initial class 1 group games and lost all 3 matches. 🙁 A quick end to my singles competition. My head did go down a bit but I did not play badly but was facing a new level of opponents. All of the players who moved into class 1 from class 2 suffered the same fate. 

On reflection there is much I can do to improve but there is only so far I will be able to climb in this class. This is not defeatist but is based on the reality of the situation. There are a mix of TT players in this community. Many are like myself who started playing after receiving a Parkinson’s diagnosis. However there are a number of players who have been playing to a very high level before they got a Parkinson’s diagnosis and the gap in skill levels between these two groups is wide.  My goal is to keep training to close this gap as much as possible, recognising that I will never have the same years of experience as these players.

PPP German Open Day 2

A much better day for me. I started the morning playing men’s doubles with my German partner Frank Schliwinski.  I was only able to find a partner at the last minute and we met for the first time when we were called to start our first match together. I don’t speak German and Frank doesn’t speak English, what could possibly go wrong?

Surprisingly we played well together and won all 3 group games only dropping one set and qualified for the quarter finals on Saturday.

In the afternoon I played in the men’s Class 1 consolation singles group matches. In the first match I really struggled to cope with my opponents style of play and was 2-0 down before I got to grips with it evenually winning the match. I lost my second match to Morten and won the third to qualify for the knockout round on Saturday.

Late afternoon I played in mixed doubles with fellow Scot and good friend Joy Paul. We lost 3 very close matches in a tight group. The last match finished after 8pm and by that time I was running on fumes. Mixed doubles consolation matches were also scheduled for Saturday  which is meant another full day ahead.

We had to abandon a dinner planned with the Swedish team on Friday evening as we did not return to the hotel until after 21:00 and we were all fatigued and in my case feeling the effects of medication adjustments made throughout the day to cope with the long schedule.

PPP German Open Day 3

First match was  mixed doubles consolation semi- final with Joy against Swedes Eva-Lena and Erik. It took 5 sets and saving 2 match points in the final set to get the win. At 8-10 down in the fifth set I was resigned to losing after missing the table twice in a row. Not Joy though, she played two great serves to drag us level and get us the victory. The final is was scheduled for Sunday morning.

In mens doubles Frank and I lost the quarter final in 3 sets to a very good team, we just had no answer to their superior ability.

Low point of the day was losing my consolation singles quarter final 2-3 after being 2-0 ahead. A Pushing/ chopping game against anti spin and pimples,  a nightmare I am sure I heard snoring from the spectators during this one.

Now for the event party.

A great night. good food, a few drinks (mindfull we had a final on Sunday) and music, and possibly too many speeches (in German)? At least the music provided an opportunity to practice my dad dancing for my daughters wedding later this year 😂. Later in the evening there was Karaoke which was our cue to leave before I got  carried away and joined in. 🤪

PPP German Open Day 4

Joy and I played in the mixed doubles consolation final but it was not not to be and we lost in straight sets. We didn’t really get into the game which was disappointing as we played the same opponents at the group stage losing a tight match 3-2.

However it was good to be still playing on day 4 of the competition and not just spectating.

We watched most of the finals and then the award ceremony at which Joy and I we picked up our consolation award for the mixed doubles. It may just be my ego but I always imagine the cheer is slightly louder when we are announced “from Scotland”.  Joy collected a bronze medal for reaching the semi final of the class 1 ladies doubles with her partner Lin from Sweden. Well done to them both 👏👏.

It was decided that national anthems would be played at the end of the medals ceremony for medal winners. As the only winner from Scotland Joy was asked to stand at the podium on her own while God Save the King was played! I decided to join her for support. Just when we were about to stand down after the anthem they played Flower of Scotland 🏴 and we got to stand there twice as long as most other countries. Proud and cringeworthy at the same time. 😮

Once again I have had a great experience with a fantastic group of people who come together to play table tennis, have fun and support each other. Yes we all have Parkinson’s but during these events that seems like a minor detail as we enjoy ourselves and and try our best to be competitive, but in a very sporting and friendly atmoshere.

My focus now turns to the Parkinson’s Scottish Internation Table Tennis Open being held in Inverclyde in August.

End