POTENTIAL title winners and challengers are showing their hand seven weeks into the Basingstoke and District Table Tennis League campaign.

In Division One, St Peters A are storming towards an 11th successive title, having dropped only five points out of 50 in five matches.

Elsewhere, things are not so clear, with Queens F and Minitec the early pace setters in Division Two. BHS Table Tennis and Queens H are leading the way in Division Three.

In Division Three, the youngsters of Queens I belied their league position, taking two games off of league leaders BHS Table Tennis. With a bit of good fortune it could have been an amazing result, as they twice lost out in the fifth game. Nathan Rivett got his side off to a flyer, going two games up against Sirish Modi and holding his nerve in the third to take it 16-14. The leaders showed their class and hit back with three on the bounce. Prashanth Devarajappa got his third treble of the season and Kedar Mahabaleshwarkar his fourth.

The young Queens side forgot they were playing the leaders and Dan Rivett brought his side into the game to trail 3-2 at the halfway stage.

They very nearly rewrote the script as Nathan Rivett battled his way back from two games down to level against Devarajappa, only to suffer the heartbreak of going down 11-9 in the decider.

BHS knew they were in a battle as Dan Rivett also fought back from 2-0 down to Kedar Mahabaleshwarkar, only to also suffer in the fifth.

Next up, Alex Gray lost out 9-11, 11-9, 10-12, 9-11 and all in all it was a good performance from Queens that will gain them valuable experience.

In Division Two, Oakley A hosted Aldworth B and the teams swapped places in the table thanks to Oakley’s 7-3 win.

Deuce was required in the first three games, the hosts winning the first two 12-10, the visitors taking the third 12-10.

Aldworth squared it up, but with the momentum going their way, Oakley held on to take the clinching game 11-9.

Alpha have now had two draws in four games, the latest with Queens A in Division One. Paul Rattue was the man of the match taking all three of his matches, though Tony Palaczky extended him to a fifth game, which Rattue took 11-6.

Dave Halfpenny was involved in a five-game thriller with Callum Coombs, Coombs eventually gaining the upper hand 11-9 in the last game.

Paritosh Singh needed to recover from 2-1 down against Terry White to take the all-important games 12-10 and 11-6, sealing the win and securing the draw for his team, who had fought back from 5-3 down.

Hampshire’s junior table tennis squad, which includes Basingstoke’s Amy Blagbrough, carried on where they left off last season when they entertained Devon, Dorset and Cornwall at Kings School, Winchester.

Blagbrough remained unbeaten throughout the day as Hampshire defeated Dorset 8-2, Devon 10-0 and Cornwall 9-1.