An upset semifinal loss for defending champion Teng Teng Liu opened the door for young second seed Nathan Xu to claim the Open Men's title at the North Island Open table tennis championships in Whanganui on Saturday night.
As the No1 seed, 26-year-old Liu was defeated by 20-year-old fellow AucklanderDean Shu, the tournament's third seed.
Second seed Xu, only 15, then beat Shu in the final, having got past Waitemata's Victor Ma in their semifinal.
There were no surprises in the Open Women's draw, as Auckland's No 1 seed Kim Wang, 24, won the final over Wellington's second seed Ye Zhai.
Matches were held on six tables inside Jubilee Stadium's Annex room in Springvale, with neighbouring Springvale Stadium hosting extra games so the championships could be completed after three days of play, starting Friday afternoon and finishing today.
Despite losing the Open Men's final, Shu did not miss out on a winner's prize as he claimed the Under 21 Boys title, beating Bay of Plenty's Max Henderson in the final.
The Under 21 Girls title went to Zhiying Cheng, ahead of fellow North Shore representative Tianya Zhang.
The Open Women's Doubles title was won by Angie Guo (Counties Manukau) and Hui-Ling Wong (Wellington).
Xu was able to make it a championship double, as he teamed with Auckland's Dinyar Irani to win the Open Men's Doubles.
There were also double title winners in the Open Mixed grade, which was claimed by Irani and Wang.
It was the first time the North Island championships have been held in Whanganui for 23 years, and there was a local winner as Charlie Kiss teamed with Waikato's Bruce Langridge to claim the Over 70 Men's Doubles crown.
Bay of Plenty's David Jarvis lines up his shot from the back of the table.
Results
Combined D Grade Doubles: Conrad Ang, Marco Patajac (Waitemata). Women's D Grade Singles: Emme Kearney (Bay of Plenty). Men's D Grade Singles: Robert Zhang (Auckland). Men's C Grade Doubles: David Jarvis (Bay of Plenty), Paul Kyle (Waikato). C Grade Singles: Larn Sweeney (Wellington). Women's B Grade Singles: Angie Guo (Counties Manukau). Over 70 Men's Doubles: Charlie Kiss (Wanganui), Bruce Langridge (Waikato). Over 70 Men's Singles: Bruce Langridge (Waikato). Over 60 Mixed Doubles: Russell Winkley (Hawke's Bay), Kerry Allen (Waikato). Over 60 Women's Singles: Kerry Allen (Waikato). Over 60 Men's Singles: David Scott (Bay of Plenty). Over 50 Mixed Doubles: Heath Murdoch, Sabine Westenra (Wellington). Over 50 Men's Doubles: Darrell Brown, Heath Murdoch (Wellington). Over 50 Women's Singles: Sabine Westenra (Wellington). Over 50 Men's Singles: Depak Patel (Wellington). Over 40 Men's Doubles: Depak Patel, Daniel Rosner (Wellington). Over 30 Men's Singles: Matthew Ball (Manawatu). Under 21 Boys Doubles: Jae Lee, Jack Webb (Manawatu). Under 21 Boys Singles: Dean Shu (Auckland). Under 21 Girls Singles: Zhiying Cheng (North Shore). Under 18 Girls Doubles: Erin Huang, Mei Mun Teh (Wellington). Under 18 Boys Doubles: Jack Chen, Alex Liu Cao (Auckland). Under 18 Girls Singles: Hui-Ling Vong (Wellington). Under 18 Boys Singles: Jack Chen (Auckland). Under 15 Girls Doubles: Emily Jin, Minette Whitehead (Waikato). Under 15 Boys Doubles: Jack Chen, Alex Liu Cao (Auckland). Under 15 Girls Singles: Takaimaania Ngata-Henare (Northland). Under 15 Boys Singles: Alex Liu Cao (Auckland). Under 13 Boys Doubles: Aaron Lan, Yufeng Wang (Wellington). Under 13 Mixed Doubles: James Catto (Bay of Plenty), Minette Whitehead (Waikato). Under 13 Girls Singles: Takaimaania Ngata-Henare (Northland). Under 13 Boys Singles: Yufeng Wang (Wellington). Under 11 Boys Doubles: Genji Nozaki, Benjamin Ye (Auckland). Open Mixed Doubles: Dinyar Irani, Kim Wang (Auckland). Open Women's Doubles: Angie Guo (Counties Manukau), Hui-Ling Vong (Wellington). Open Men's Doubles: Dinyar Irani, Nathan Xu (Auckland). Open Women's Singles: Kim Wang (Auckland). Open Men's Singles: Nathan Xu (Auckland).
