Our Tayla hits top form

BUNDABERG competitors may have been playing an away game, but they made themselves at home at the 2019 Queensland Junior Table Tennis Championships in Mackay.

EYES ON THE PRIZE: Tayla Scott brought her A-Game to the recent 2019 Queensland Junior Table Tennis Championships. Picture: Contributed

TABLE TENNIS: Bundaberg competitors may have been playing an away game, but they made themselves at home at the 2019 Queensland Junior Table Tennis Championships in Mackay.

Tayla Scott was the standout player for Bundaberg at the 2019 Queensland Junior Table Tennis Championships which were held in Mackay last week.

The Shalom College student, 14, dominated in the under-15 age group, winning the singles, doubles and mixed doubles and was subsequently named part of an all-Bundaberg Queensland under 15 girls team to compete at the Australian Junior Championships in Wollongong in early July, along with Tahia Zia and Natasha Jefferson.

Kane Chantarat. Picture: Steve Ricketts

In the under 15 girls singles, Tayla defeated Tahia in the final, 11/7 in the fifth game, after having led two games to love.

Both girls had five game wins in their semi-finals as well, Tayla downing Wynnum's Rachel Goh 11/9 in a final game thriller, while Tahia outlasted Natasha who had twice led by a game.

In the under 15 girls doubles, Tayla and Natasha combined to defeat Keira Connolly (Brisbane) and Emily Steffen (Rockhampton) comfortably in straight games.

Vinuka De Silva. Picture: Steve Ricketts

Tayla then shared the under 15 mixed doubles with Braydon Chapman, winning 11/9 in the fourth game of an excellent final against the top seeds, Dhriti and her Wynnum partner Jithen Aluwihare, who had beaten the unlucky Kye Meuli and Natasha Jefferson 12/10 in the fifth game of their semi-final. Bundaberg's other two gold medals came in the under 18 and under 13 girls doubles events.

Rebecca Tran and Leah Scott confirmed their top seeding when they defeated former Bundaberg team mate, Tahnee Green, now playing at Wynnum, and Brisbane's Meena Bakanay in the under 18 final.

Braydon Chapman. Picture: Steve Ricketts

By contrast, the unseeded Amelia Tu and Rockhampton's Emily Steffen survived two five game marathons before claiming the Under 13 title in straight games from Taleisha Gaeta and Bridget Murphy.

Originally published as Our Tayla hits top form