Perth's Gavin Rumgay becomes table tennis national champion for the 16th time

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Perth table tennis sensation Gavin Rumgay has proudly lifted his 16th national title.Rumgay, now 37, edged an exciting four sets to three battle against Colin Dalgleish in the final at Bell’s Sports Centre at the weekend.He had earlier navigated beyond Sean Doherty in the quarter-final and Martin Johnson in the last four.“The top seven or eight in Scotland now have really stepped up their game,” Rumgay told the PA.“In the quarter-final, I was up against Sean Doherty and he played really well.“We were at two sets all but I got off to a good start in the final set.

Some of the rallies were really long.“Then the semi-final, I played the junior number one Martin Johnson. I won 3-0 but it was very, very tight.”Rumgay was three sets to one down in the final against Dalgleish but the Perth professional has always had fight.“When you are on the table for an hour, you start to read serves better and get the ball back really low to stop them from attacking,” he said.“In table tennis, if you are the one doing the attacking first, you should win the point.“In the deciding sets, I managed to dominate the game and when it came to the final I really did feel as good physically as I did maybe 10 or 15 years ago.“My diet in the week before the tournament was meticulous.

You need to get the carbohydrates in.“You think it’s just important to eat well on the day but it’s not that. You need to prepare weeks before.“And I think all of the tennis coaching I’ve been doing is helping me.

I’ve got that little bit more stamina.“I’ve got a brilliant record when it comes to a seventh set. I’ve never lost a Scottish Championship in the deciding set.”Rumgay still remembers his first national title win against Stewart Crawford almost 20 years ago.He