“We’re miles ahead of everyone else.”
That is the view of Hakan Karaagac, UEL Men’s Table Tennis coach.
His team have found themselves in a season most teams only dream of; winning all of their league games so far to win the league and making it to the semi finals of the Conference Cup.
Heaping The Praise
Speaking exclusively to Rising East, Karaagac reflects upon his teams record breaking season and what’s kept their winning momentum going for so long.
Karaagac was quick to praise his sides consistently strong performances this season:
“I think it’s gone really well, we’ve won every single game quite substantially and the team has done really well, they get on great, they are very motivated and they’re miles ahead of everyone else, so far it’s really good, really happy.”
Record Breakers
This season has seen the blues breaking their own records, making it further in the cup than ever before and winning the BUCS South Eastern 3B league, which was confirmed with three games remaining.
These two achievements are a particular highlight for the team and coach. Last season saw them finish fourth in the league and get knocked out of the cup in the first round.
So what has the side done to transform into a winning team?
Added Quality
Karaagac puts it down to everyone’s dedication and the addition of new players to the squad:
“I think its a mixture of application and dedication they have shown in training, we’ve had some really good players turn up and play for us which has been really good.”
Already looking to the future he spoke about an added benefit of their new players saying:
“They are first years as well so we get them for next year. They’ve really applied themselves, they are training well, learning lots every time and enjoying it which is a big point as well.”
Speed Bump
Unfortunately in their most recent game, Brunel stopped UEL’s cup run with a 7-10 defeat at Sportsdock. However the home side always knew this was going to be a tough fixture as their opponents were two divisions above them.
As the team looks to continue their success into next season Karaagac made it clear that anyone is welcome to join the club and have a go:
“We’re always happy to have new members, it doesn’t matter their levels, their abilities, it’s important to include everyone and we try to do that here.”
UEL round up their historic year next Wednesday when they face Anglia Ruskin at Sportsdock for their final game of the season, with the match starting at 2:30pm.
