IT was a frustrating two days of competition at the highest level for the Denbigh table tennis stars Angharad and Megan Phillips.
Fresh from the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, the twins, and the rest of the Welsh table tennis squad, were in Sheffield for the biggest competition of their young careers so far.
Last week’s English Open at the Institute of Sport enabled the 16-year-old girls to take on Olympic and world champions.
Angharad is now ranked 1,000th in the world and Megan 1,078th and the trip to Yorkshire meant the pair came face-to-face with the world’s table tennis elite.
The English Open is one of only 17 events which form part of the International Table Tennis Federation’s Pro Tour series, and the Phillips girls began the competition in the women’s singles, both playing the top seeds in their groups.
First up for Megan was the Czech Republic’s Katerina Penkavova, ranked 200th in the world.
The teenager did well to win the opening game but after a fast 20 minutes Penkavova won 4-1.
After the game the twins’ dad Tegid said: “Megan took the first set and all of a sudden there was a wake-up call. I thought she had chances in the third and fourth.”
Megan said there were good and bad patches but felt she played OK and said it was good experience.
She said Welsh coach Ryan Jenkins had picked up on certain things they needed to work on.
Sister Angharad was next to compete against Hong Kong’s Nam Wing Ng, ranked 161st, and for Angharad this is what the tournament was all about.
She said before the match: “I didn’t win a match here last time (2009) so I know how tough it’s going to be this year.
“It’s one of the best tournaments I have ever played in, all the best people in the world are here, it’s a really good experience.”
It was a tough first tie for Angharad and after 20 minutes she lost 4-0.
Tegid said: “Anything Angharad put up there she was just putting it back.”
The evening brought better luck for Angharad, who wiped the table with England’s Yolanda King winning 4-1.
Meanwhile, Megan put in a sterling performance against England’s Tin Tin Ho but lost 4-0.
On day two, there was more disappointment for the girls. Angharad lost 4-0 to Poland’s Magdalena Szczerkowska and Megan lost by the same margin to Hong Kong’s Kwok See Yu.
Overall Angharad finished third in her group while Megan was fourth, both missing out on qualification for the knockout stages.
In an all-China women’s singles final, seventh seed Ding Ning defeated top seed and defending champion Guo Yan in five games.
In the afternoon the Denbigh pair competed in the women’s doubles.
Angharad was paired with Welsh compatriot Chloe Thomas and Megan partnered Welsh colleague Charlotte Carey.
Although they were on separate courts it was a similar story as both pairs were beaten 3-0
Angharad, who was beaten by Spain’s Sara Ramirez and Sweden’s Matilda Ekholm, said: “It was OK in parts but mostly they were strong. I don’t think we played our best either. We were quite overwhelmed by it instead of thinking of tactics.”
The Denbigh teens were also playing in the U-21 women’s singles over the two days and put in some notable performances against English players.
Angharad did tremendously well to record a 3-2 triumph over Chloe Whyte, who is ranked some 300 places higher than her.
Megan used her experience against Tin Tin Ho, narrowly losing 11-7, 11-9, 11-8.
The girls were still showing their fighting spirit and gained invaluable experience before they quickly headed straight to Glasgow for the West of Scotland Open where they reached a couple of semi-finals apiece.
Dad Tegid said: “I am proud of what they have achieved and they are ready to go to the next step.”
Despite their participation in the Commonwealth Games in India coming to a close in mid-October, the last few months have been anything but a recuperation period for the sisters.
The pair have now relocated to Cardiff to study for their A-levels so they can be closer to the national set-up and step up to the next level.
The girls say it’s strange having to cook all the time and do their washing and they especially miss their old school.
But Angharad added: “I do think that moving was the best thing to do, I get so much training. I think I have improved so much.”