An action packed day, with several players taking part in a national ranking event for the first time, was held last Saturday at the LivingWell health & fitness studio.

Stephen Rizzo, Bryan Taylorson & Richard Reid all reached the quarter-finals in what was their first ranking tournament.

Taylorson went through to the semi-final where he played reigning number 1 Ivan Balzan. After a very close and hard fought game, Balzan progressed to his third consecutive final.

His opponent this time was Bernard Bugeja. Bugeja, the 2004 Malta Open champion surprisingly lost in last months semi-final to Karl Grech Orr. This time Bugeja, constantly hitting the ball harder and earlier, proved too quick and consistent for Grech Orr and reversed the last result between the two players, winning 3-0.

The final turned out to be the match of the tournament – Balzan, the current number 1 against Bugeja the reigning Malta Open champion. The crowd that had gathered to watch the final was not disappointed. First and third game went to Bugeja, and the second and fourth game to Balzan. The fifth and deciding game lasted almost 30 minutes. With both players locked at 5-5 it was Bugeja’s superior fitness that proved the key, and he went on to win his first national ranking tournament.

The ladies national team once again competed in the men’s event as part of their preparation for the international tournament later this year in Cyprus. All four ladies played some really tough matches and it was good to see that all progressed to the second round. Johanna Rizzo went one better and reached the quarter-finals where she put up a tremendous fight, only losing 3-2 to Ivan Balzan.

The next ranking event is on Saturday 5 February at the Marsa Sports Club.