The biennial table tennis Home Countries International Tournament was held in Guernsey recently.

The Isle of Man was represented in the men’s, women’s, junior boys (under-18) and cadet girls (u15) events by the following players: Men’s - Ronan McDonnell, Sean Drewry; Women - Khayee Vinas, Kerenza Baker; U18 - Juan Moore, Sasha Thomas; U15 - Freya Melvin, Lily Byrne.

The Manx were up against national teams of England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Jersey and Guernsey in an event that is the highest standard the island competes in.

The party was accompanied by coaches Maggie Mulhern and Malc Lewis, with umpires Mike Bayley and Rhys Yardley.

Friday and Saturday’s team event was played as a round -robin event and the first opponents were Wales who fielded a strong team against which the Manx players didn’t register a win. All age groups went down 0-5.

Against Guernsey, senior man Ronan McDonnell beat Josh Stacey 8/11 11/9 9/11 11/13 for the island’s only win but Sean Drewry pushed him hard, losing 7/11 in the fifth end. Final score: 1-4.

The senior women got off to a good start with Vinas beating Charlotte Casey in straight sets before Vinas and Baker combined to take the doubles 12/10 in the fifth. These were the island’s only wins as the team went down 2-3.

The Isle of Man’s cadet girls enjoyed an excellent match winning 4-1, Melvin winning both her singles before teaming up with Byrne to win the doubles. The latter also picked up a singles win. The island’s junior boys found the going tough and succumbed 0-5.

The matches against England and Ireland saw all of the Manx teams losing 0-5, while the games against Scotland also saw defeats. But Vinas and Melvin both picked up wins and McDonnell was awarded a walkover when Craig Howison pulled out of their match.

Against Jersey, both the senior men and cadet girls teams were victorious.

Drewry got the ball rolling when he beat Tyler Gosslin 8/11 13/11 4/11 11/4 9/11, followed by McDonnell’s win against Chris Morshead 9/11 11/4 4/11 11/9 11/7.

The pair then took the doubles in four sets which gave the Isle of Man a 3-2 victory.

The cadet girls went even better by winning 5-0 without dropping a single set.

The senior women, while playing well, were edged out 2-3 as Vinas beat Irene Broe 7/11 9/11 11/2 3/11 and then she and Baker fought back from two sets down to take the doubles 10-12 6/11 12-10 11/8 7/11

The island’s junior boys played some good table tennis but were unable to register a win.

Final placings in the team event were: cadet girls fifth; senior men sixth; senior women and junior boys seventh.

The singles event was played as a straight knockout on Sunday, with seedings taken from the team results.

Melvin was the highest-ranked player in eighth position, followed by McDonnell and Vinas in 10th, Byrne 11th while trailing her in 13th were Drewry and Moore, with Thomas and Baker in 14th.

Only Melvin progressed through to the quarter-finals by beating Erin Vaudin 12/10 11/5 11/2. She was then up against number one seed Millie Rogave, producing a spirited performance before losing 6/11 4/11 6/11.

All in all a good performance by the island’s players throughout the weekend.

This event is to be held biennially and will be hosted next by the Isle of Man in 2019.