By Joshua West/ reporter
Joshua West/The Collegian
Scott Ryan, former TCC student and National College Table Tennis Regional Champion, defeated NE Ping Pong Club president Sameer Siddiqi in the final round of the April 27 pingpong tournament by winning three games in the best-of-five series.
Pingpong is not an age-defying sport, with 62-year-old Ryan winning against 21-year-old Siddiqi.
“It’s a young man sport, but I went to school here from 1979-1980. Back then, it was called Tarrant County Junior College,” Ryan said.
Ryan plays at the national level in his age group, but in his prime, he had played in the fourth league in Germany, where he was stationed in the service.
“I’ve reached an age that I can’t play at,” he said. “In the ’70s and ’80s in Germany, just like a soccer league, I played fourth with first being the top,” he said.
Ryan said he came out to the tournament to talk to club members and get them involved with NCTT and increase students’ interest in table tennis.
Even though Siddiqi lost to Ryan, he encouraged Siddiqi to keep going.
“It’s like poker,” Ryan said. “The first game I’d like to win, but I won’t play until three rounds to see what they can do and not do. And by close to the end of the game, I will know what that person is capable of.”
When Ryan faced Siddiqi in the finals, he learned something new about Siddiqi.
“When playing Sameer, I learned that he had pips,” Ryan said. “It throws topspin players off because it comes back differently.”
Even though Ryan has played for years, he still approaches the game in a learning manner.
“Their level of play is not too bad, but I am left-handed,” he said. “That throws most people off.”
During the match against Ryan, Siddiqi played defensively and gave his all to stand against Ryan.
“I would say experience drove Scott over me in the finals. Scott has been playing for a very long time and is honestly one of the best people I’ve seen ever,” Siddiqi said.
Pingpong is more than a game. The physics aspect of the sport intrigues club members.
“There’s a lot that goes into pingpong, the physics of it, from the grip to the spin,” club member Sam Zerna said. “Just because a player beats another player doesn’t mean that he is better than the players who have lost to that player.”
The pingpong community at TCC brings players together.
“I like obscure hobbies,” club member Ivan Duran said. “I tend to meet different kinds of people to stray away from the norm. It’s not just a game. It’s a community.”
