Table Tennis: Derek Abrefa wins silver at 2023 London Grand Prix
Ghanaian table tennis ace, Derek Abrefa, has excelled at the recently held London Grand Prix 2023 tournament comprising over 200 players from all parts of Europe at the Redbridge Sports Centre, Ilford, London.
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Abrefa, currently based in the United Kingdom (UK), finished second in the May 27-28 competition after losing 0-3 (4-11, 10-12,6-11) to Romania’s Mihai Nemaciuc in the final to secure a silver medal.
Abrefa topped his group to qualify for the main draw which was played in a knockout format to progress through the Round of 32 up to the semi-final stage where he defeated England's Adam Jepson from England 3-2 to reach the final.
The London Grand Prix is one of the biggest and most highly-rated Open tournaments in the UK. This year's competition involved top players from the host nation, Romania, Poland, The Netherlands, Germany, Scotland, Russia, India and Nigeria, among others.
Abrefa, who is currently on a training tour of Europe in preparation towards the 2023 African Games in Ghana next March, told Graphic Sports that he was very happy about his recent improvement and support from the Ghana Table Tennis Association but would work on further developing his game.
"Training is progressing well and my performance in tournaments just shows how much I've improved since relocating here where I get to play regularly in very tough tournaments and local league competitions," Abrefa, an officer of the Ghana Immigration Service, said.
“Currently, I want to focus on correcting and working on my errors for the next two months before participating in the next grand prix to be held on Glouchester, England".
I He seized the opportunity to thank the Director of Sports of the Ghana Immigration Service, DSI Anita Edikan Wiredu-Minta; the Ghana Table Tennis Association, especially its president, Mawuko Afadzinu; his coach Ebenezer Anang-Whyte of La Dadekotopon Table Tennis Club for the support,as well as former national players, Raphael Munkoh and Eric Hammond, for coaching him throughout the tournament.
