Japan Drops Bombshell at World Championships

New Zealand didn’t attend the 1952 World Championships in Bombay, India. But one country that did, and for the first time, was Japan. The performance of its players took the entire table tennis world by surprise. A frail-looking, bespectacled player named Hiroji Satoh won the men’s singles. Shizuki Narahara and Tomie Nishimura won the women’s doubles, playing outside Japan for the first time. And the same pair won the women’s teams, getting through the whole event with the minimum complement of two players – Japan’s entire female contingent. In fact only five players in total from Japan participated and they all won at least one title. The other two men, Norikazu Fujii and Tadaki Hayashi, chipped in with the men’s doubles.

Europe, reeling from the shock, could only settle for the men’s teams (Hungary), the women’s singles (Romania’s Angelica Rozeanu) and the mixed doubles, shared by Hungary and Romania. But these were mere consolation prizes for the continent that had always dominated world table tennis. It was Japan’s championship. And, despite reports on the high standard of Japanese table tennis brought back by Hungarian and American players who had visited that country, nobody seemed to see it coming.

Who Won? The Man? Or the Bat?

The big talking point was not only Japan’s success, astounding as it was, but also the lethal weapon held in the hand of the men’s singles winner. Satoh played pen-grip with a wafer-thin square blade of medium-soft Japanese cypress (hinoki) covered on one side with soft, spongy, aerated foam rubber nearly half an inch thick. Nobody had ever seen anything like it. Sponge-surfaced bats were rare even in Japan – in fact their national association had attempted to ban them. It was estimated that fewer than fifty of Japan’s many thousands of players were using this type of bat. But in the hand of Satoh it was a world beater.

Sponge wasn’t unknown in Europe. Austria’s Waldemar Fritsch was among several international players known to have experimented with it, and sponge bats of varying composition had been used at club level for decades. But no sponge-user had ever won the world championships. General opinion was that the material was only effective because it made no sound, confounding the timing of the opposing player. Some thought it would quickly go out of favour once players got the better of it and that Japan would not only dispense with it but also change from pen-grip to conventional grip in an attempt to match European might.

But attributing Japan’s 1952 success to sponge alone overlooks the fact that only Satoh and Nishimura played with it. And Nishimura, with her style of constant attack, appeared to gain little advantage from it. The other three used hard bats with standard pimpled rubber. And yet the other two men won the doubles title (beating Bergmann and Leach in the final) and the two women beat the title-holders, England’s Rowe twins, in their final. The sponge player doing the most damage, Satoh, was ranked only #5 in Japan. #1 was Norikazu Fujii, who put Bergmann out. But Satoh eliminated Marty Reisman (USA) and future champion Ferenc Sido (Hungary). He beat another Hungarian, Josef Koczian, three straight in the final. Unlike Nishimura, Satoh fully exploited the properties of sponge by variously counter-hitting, floating, chopping, blocking and suddenly springing into attack – deceiving and wrong-footing opponents every inch of the way.

Satoh’s win triggered an immediate interest in sponge which spread world-wide and eventually reached New Zealand. But the material was controversial and a campaign was launched to have it banned.

The 1952 world championships were historic on multiple counts: first in Asia, first attended by Japan, first won with sponge, first to challenge European dominance. World table tennis would never be quite the same again.

And to think New Zealand might have been there to witness this drama! (1951 article explains).

False prophets continued to predict that Japan’s 1952 triumph was a mere blip and they would fade away as fast as they arose. If only they knew! With or without sponge, Japan’s best was yet to come.

---

New Zealand Welcomes Professional Coach

When it was first proposed in 1951, the idea of bringing an overseas coach to New Zealand for a whole season generated a heated debate which divided the entire country (refer 1951 article). But by the time English coach Ken Stanley arrived in April to begin his six-month professional engagement, any lingering memory of the controversy soon dissolved as the affable 30 year old with the genial smile worked his way through the country, visiting all 22 Associations. He was dedicated, energetic and tireless.

The only reminder that the visit had cost New Zealand the opportunity to compete at the 1952 World Championships was a comment in a newspaper that had lobbied strongly against the Stanley visit. The (anonymous) piece continued to claim that improving our top players through international competition is better value for money as other players keep learning from them when they return permanently to New Zealand. This couldn’t happen with a professional coach who visits and then leaves. But it concluded “…though there was some opposition to the importation of a professional coach there will be few now who will deny that Mr Stanley is going to leave a definite mark on New Zealand table tennis.” Further testament was New Zealander Charlotte Savage’s comment that she learned more from Ken Stanley in Wellington than she had learned in the Michael Szabados academy in Sydney over a longer period.

Stanley had specialised in coaching since 1945 after earlier showing huge promise as a player. He took up the game aged 11 and at 12 was playing for Manchester in a team containing England internationals. He was national junior champion in 1937, 1938 and 1939 (a rare three year tenure that had not been equalled) and he represented England at the World Championships while still a junior. As a senior player he remained among the best in England but didn’t reach the heights at world level that were hoped for him. The intervention of war may have been a factor but in any event he turned to coaching. He remains a strong player, with a ranking of 13 in England.

Before arriving in New Zealand he expressed a preference for working with promising players under the age of 21. Associations were invited to make nominations in this age-group and the national association selected the best for a series of six intensive half-hour sessions, with Stanley working one-on-one in the trainee’s home area. The other nominees were coached for shorter periods or in groups. Unselected players, coaches and spectators were permitted to watch some sessions. Visits to schools, exhibitions and training sessions for coaches also took place. No work was done with our top senior players.

Stanley’s method was to look for strengths and build on them within the player’s own specific style. From throughout the country there were reports of players improving noticeably after a single two hour session.

The length of each Association visit varied from two days to three weeks and was determined by interclub team numbers.

Ken Stanley reminded us yet again how far New Zealand has to go to catch up with leading table tennis nations. He encouraged more confidence, more speed, and more play. “Go forward to the ball rather than wait for it to come to you,” he urged. “Organise more tournaments and competitive opportunities. Bring your top players together more often to play each other. Have a longer season. Help Associations set up their own permanent facilities.”

Just before he returned home for a well-earned rest he was able to demonstrate his own playing skills in a competitive environment. He was given special permission to participate in the New Zealand Championships.

---

NZ Championships Go International

As English coach Ken Stanley’s period of engagement drew to a close, all attention shifted to the New Zealand Championships. Stanley himself had entered, giving the event an international status for the first time but there was also widespread interest in the prospects for local players.

Can Margaret Hoar be stopped? She had won three in a row and Joyce Williamson, the young player who finally beat her last year, was not competing.

Would this be Murray Dunn’s year? He had rallied brilliantly with Russell Algie last year in the quarter-finals as a 15 year old; played to his 3rd seeding at the North Island Championships, bowing out to Bob Jackson; and had won the men’s singles in Wanganui, Wellington and Hutt Valley. What could he do at national level?

And then there’s Russell Algie – could he win his seventh title?

But the biggest imponderable was Ken Stanley himself. Will the Englishman steamroll the field and put an end to everybody else’s chances? He was top seed, ranked 13 in England, and the overwhelming favourite. But he had just completed an exhausting six months of coaching and had not once played competitively while here. The top local players were not going to lie down for him.

Excellent Facilities

Otago hosted the championships and the organisation and facilities met all expectations. “Up to English standards,” commented Ken Stanley approvingly.

Margaret Hoar couldn’t be stopped. Her finals opponent was (yet again) June Leathley, now Mrs June Magorian. Magorian had struggled to beat Marie McLennan in the semi-final.

It was not Dunn’s year. A Canterbury 18 year old named John Armstrong saw to that, beating him 21-18, 17-21, 21-19, 21-17 in the third round. Later Armstrong took a game off Bob Jackson in the quarter-finals. Relying mainly on a fluid and graceful defensive game, Armstrong would go on to worry many of New Zealand’s best players for two decades.

It wasn’t Russell Algie’s year either. In a major shock John Crossley dealt the death blow to the six times champion in the quarter-finals. Algie won the first game 21-13 but then Crossley, not generally known for consistency, produced his very best for three games on end. His powerful backhand was accurate and often just left Algie standing. He won the last three games 21-13, 21-19, 21-17.

King Stanley

When Ken Stanley began cruising through the field hopes that any New Zealander might seriously challenge him for the men’s singles title steadily faded. He played a consistent all-round game at a level our best players could merely aspire to. When he was fully focused (and often he didn’t need to be) nobody could touch him. Any predictions that tiredness or lack of match play might have given others a fighting chance were sadly misplaced. He was far too good.

That said, the final between him and Owen Jaine was a spectacular match. Jaine excelled himself in the third game and won it 21-19. Stanley then piled on the pressure against his tiring opponent to win the fourth 21-11. He became the first overseas competitor to win a New Zealand Championship.

Bob Jackson had put up little resistance against Stanley in the semi-final, and John Crossley’s great form against Algie deserted him when he faced Jaine in the other semi. He lost 3-21, 13-21, 15-21.

Professionalism Combined with Youth

Stanley was paired with junior players in the two doubles events. Bay of Plenty’s Ann Malcolm (seeded 2nd in the under 18 girls) partnered him in the mixed doubles but the experience of Neville Brown and Marie McLennan was too much for the “international” pair in the second round. Playing with 16 year old Murray Dunn in the men’s doubles Stanley was unstoppable. They were pushed to five in the semi-final by Bob Jackson and Owen Jaine and then beat Russell Algie and Kevin Dwyer three straight in the final.

Great Junior Performances

John Catto, Southland’s pride and joy, won the under 16 boys singles and followed that triumph with a superb five-game battle against John Crossley in the men’s singles. As already noted, Crossley later eliminated Algie.

Alan Robinson reached the men’s singles fourth round (round of 16) before finally going out to Bill Fogarty. Earlier in the year the promising young Wellington player had sensationally beaten Murray Dunn in the junior boys final at the Wanganui Open. Dunn went on to win the men’s singles at that event.

The delightfully-named Tweenie Evans, a 13 year old from Waikato armed with a sandpaper-covered wooden bat, collected the under 18 and under 16 girls singles titles. Still not done, she beat 1947 NZ champion Audrey Hughes in the women’s singles and proceeded through to the quarter-finals where Marie McLennan finally inflicted her first defeat. Prior to that Tweenie had won eight singles in succession over the three events. Earlier in the year she had taken a game off Margaret Hoar at the North Island Championships.

L/R: Barbara Packwood, Margaret Hoar,
Owen Jaine

Auckland Teams on Top

Auckland won both the Kean and Teagle Shields, beating Otago in both finals. The men’s team (Russell Algie, Bob Jackson, Owen Jaine, Kevin Dwyer and Eric Smith) was never going to lose but the women were pushed to 6-6 and won only on a count-back. The Auckland team now included Margaret Hoar, well supported by Barbara Packwood (recently moved from Canterbury and rapidly improving), Val Leach, Barbara Williams and Soynya Eccles (pictured).

---

New Zealand Star Shines in Australia

There was a very good reason why 1951 NZ women’s singles champion Joyce Williamson did not attend this year’s championships. She had decided instead to target Australia. As the Australian Championships all but coincided with New Zealand’s (they began just two days later in Tasmania, unreachable by direct flight) she passed up the chance to defend her New Zealand title, won so decisively in Masterton.

It was a brave venture for the 17 year old who travelled across the Tasman alone.

Playing aggressively and with seemingly unlimited confidence she recorded some superb results.

The organisers gave a somewhat grudging nod to her status as NZ Champion by seeding her 5th in the women’s singles. First she competed in the under 18 girls’ singles for which she was top seed. She was untroubled to win.

World Class Opposition

Then came the open events. In these Williamson was mixing with former world champions. Michael Szabados was there and, topping the women’s seeds in a high class field, was former world doubles champion Dora Beregi. She had triumphed at the 1950 Worlds in Budapest while playing for England, partnered by Helen Elliot of Scotland. Since moving to Australia later in 1950 her firm grasp on the Australian title was never threatened. For this year’s championships she was the overwhelming favourite.

Joyce Williamson was in the other half of the draw and was utterly untroubled to reach the quarter-finals. There she faced second seed Dorli Shipp, another former Australian champion. Not the least bit fazed, and to the amazement of the Australian press, Williamson won 21-13, 21-13. Confronted now by a player seeded below her, she cruised past Aldona Snarskyte 21-18, 21-13, thus reaching the final. After losing the first game to Beregi 9-21, she found another gear and managed to win the second 21-17. Beregi scrambled home in the third 21-18. It was a hard-hitting match played at a furious pace.

This extraordinary performance by the young New Zealander received scant coverage in the New Zealand press.

Partnered by Australian players unknown to her, Williamson reached the quarter-finals in both the women’s and mixed doubles.

She made a triumphant return to New Zealand but in due course would broaden her international experience further by travelling to England.

---

1954 World Championships – We’re Going This Time

A decision to attend the 1954 World Championships in London was taken at the 1952 AGM. Thirteen players were assembled for training in October, 1952 and given a 15 month preparation programme designed by Lance Cross on behalf of the Physical Welfare Branch of NZ Internal Affairs. It was a much more elaborate build-up plan than had been in place for the abortive trip to Bombay (refer 1951).

A selection committee of Vern Mitchell, Tommy Williams and Norm Ballinger was set in place specifically for this event. Money to meet the costs would be raised by Art Union. The selected players were (alphabetically) John Armstrong, Jack Borough, Neville Brightwell, John Crossley, Tony Darroch, Murray Dunn, Kevin Dwyer, Trevor Flint, Garry Frew, Bob Jackson, Owen Jaine, Alan Tomlinson and Brian Williamson. It was a mix of experience and youth. Russell Algie had declared himself unavailable.

Four players would be selected from this pool with the right reserved to select outside it if deemed appropriate. The team would be announced after the 1953 New Zealand Championships.

Unlike in 1951, there was little sign of controversy over this trip. The initial proposal was to attend the 1953 Championships in Romania but when it was amended to 1954 in England, support was almost unanimous. It would be New Zealand’s first official representation at the World Championships. An atmosphere of anticipation would steadily build as the team announcement approached.

---

Another New Star Bursts onto the Scene

A young player destined for big things in New Zealand table tennis had signaled his potential when he reached the under 18 boys’ final at the 1951 North Island Championships. He followed this in 1952 by winning the men’s singles at two open provincial championships: Northland and Bay of Plenty. These performances by a previously unknown player, coupled with his interclub record in the strong Auckland A grade competition, attracted the attention of the national selectors. The 18 year old was a last-minute addition to the pool of players training for the 1954 World Championships. His name was Alan Tomlinson.

---

1953 Visit by World Champion English Twins Possible

It began with an AGM Notice of Motion by Tommy Williams – the man behind NZ’s first exhibition of world class table tennis in 1933. This time he was proposing a visit by the 1951 world doubles champions, twin sisters Diane and Rosalind Rowe. The idea was taken up by the national body and visiting English coach Ken Stanley, who knew the twins well, volunteered to lobby for the tour on our behalf. Viktor Barna, who had coached the twins, also encouraged them to make the trip.

By year’s end the Annual Report had noted: “….negotiations are at present being entertained with a view to a 1953 visit to this country by the talented English twins, Misses Diane and Rosalind Rowe.”

The twins had by then already agreed conditionally to a visit and only a few loose details remained to be finalised.

This would be yet another first – to date the steady succession of international visitors to New Zealand had all been male.

---

Long Debate on Shorts

A bizarre controversy arose early in the year over whether or not female table tennis competitors should be allowed to play in shorts, or even slacks (trousers). To date, all women and girls at major championships had exclusively worn skirts, more recently almost ankle length following the fashion of the day.

The 1952 Wellington AGM passed a resolution allowing their female representatives to wear shorts if they chose. “I think most women look very well in shorts,” said Tom McPhee, speaking in favour. “But I suggest that some of the men who wear shorts should have a close look at themselves.” Chairman Tommy Williams was not so sure. “If many of the women who wear shorts could see their back view I am sure they would much prefer to wear skirts.”

The debate moved to the New Zealand AGM where an Auckland remit proposed amending the Barna Cup rules to allow shorts and slacks for women at the NZ Championships. Similar arguments were raised. “We have a girl who plays in slacks,” reported one delegate. “She thinks she is marvellous but in my opinion she is a horrid sight.” The remit was defeated by the predominantly male gathering, but only by 64 votes to 51. Skirts remained the required attire.

The issue would become “hotter” as the 1953 visit by the Rowe twins approached. They had won the world doubles title in 1951 decked out in a style of brief shorts that would be considered only suitable for beach-wear in New Zealand. Such attire was not unusual for table tennis in England.

In 1952 Tommy Williams was continuing to make predictions: “Next will be someone coming to play in a bikini, a fez on her head and a pekinese under her arm.”

---