- News
- Events Events
- High Performance High Performance
-
Participation & Development
Participation & Development
Participation & Development Club Finder National Volunteer and Coach Awards Get Involved in Para Table Tennis Table Tennis - Rules & Equipment Sporting Schools Spinneroos Coaching Courses & Accreditations Officiating Courses & Accreditations National Coach Finder National Insurance Coverage Participation Census National Member Finder TTA Webinar Resources TTA Equipment & Facilities Grant Women and Girls Special Olympics Australia
- About & Governance About & Governance
- Contact
Jian Fang Lay and Alex Lee take out top prize at TTA Tour - Melbourne
Published Tue 19 Apr 2022
Six-time Olympian Jian Fang Lay and young gun Alex Lee secured the Women’s and Men’s Singles titles at the TTA Tour - Melbourne over the weekend (16-17 April).
It was the first time a TTA Tour event was held in Melbourne after the tournament last year had to be cancelled due to the lockdown in Victoria.
Topping her group after an undefeated run, Lay beat fellow Australian team member Melissa Tapper in the semi final to book herself a spot in the final, where she met Sanaya Buddhadasa.
Buddhadasa had come into the event off the back of an impressive performance at the TTA Tour - Canberra last month. The 17-year-old took home four medals that weekend including gold in the Women's Singles, silver in the Under 21 and Under 19 plus bronze in Under 17.
Buddhadasa was able to keep in front of Lay for the majority of the opening game, however the seven-time Commonwealth Games medallist mounted a comeback to eventually level it at 9-9 before taking the game.
While Buddhadasa once again took the lead in the second, Lay was right on her heels, this time taking the lead at 5-4 and didn’t look back as she went 2-0 up. The third was a much tighter affair, with both players unable to gain the upper hand but after Buddhadasa lost consecutive points, it was the opening Lay needed to consolidate her win.
Tapper took bronze after beating Cherry Le.
Meanwhile, the Men’s Singles final proved to be a tough match, with TTA Tour - Canberra winner Alex Lee and 2021 TTA Tour - Sydney Men’s Open winner Chris Yan facing each other in a five-game thriller.
After building an early lead, it didn’t take long for Lee to take the opening game before quickly taking the second in a similar style.
The third was where the match took a turn as the players went toe-to-toe. Lee had a number of chances to capitalise on his lead but he gave Yan a chance to work his way back into the match.
Eventually, Yan was able to take the third game before going on to level at 2-2.
After reaching 4-4 in the fifth and final game, Lee managed to take the lead with a backhand winner and capitalised on it by rattling off three straight points. It was the lead Lee needed to help secure him his second consecutive TTA Tour title.
Saiki Shimojo took bronze with a win over Sanish Ambekar.
Full results for the TTA Tour - Melbourne can be found here.
The TTA Tour will travel to Sydney on 4-5 June at Sydney Olympic Park. Registrations for the event will close on 22 April 2022. Click here to register.
