By Colin Stoner - Birmingham Post

Birmingham teenager Navinder Matharu reckons he is playing the best table tennis of his career. Which is just as well when today he faces the player who has made the Butterfly Grand Prix events his very own property in the last few years.  Matharu, in his first year as a senior, heads into this weekend’s Nottingham Open with spirits soaring after a hat-trick of treble successes.   Having helped Birmingham’s men return to Midlands League action with a perfect three out of three record to defeat Stafford, the Colebridge Braves player then racked up further maximums in action in the Birmingham League and Leamington League.

But today he faces England’s No 2 Alex Perry, who has won every Grand Prix event he has entered over the past two seasons.  It has made the Hertfordshire player the Grand Prix circuit’s most successful player in recent years.  For 18-year-old student Matharu, however, the chance to pit his skills against the 31-year-old is a measure of how far he has come since leaving the junior ranks - and where he needs to be to push his way into the national rankings.  "I know I’m probably going to get beat but I’m going to give it my best shot," said Matharu. "He has been unbeatable in the Grand Prix and won every tournament he has entered.  "But playing somebody of his calibre will inspire me. It will be a chance to judge myself. I’m playing the No 2 player in England but it’s the chance to see how far I am from the top level. I want to be up there myself.

"This is my first season in the seniors and it will be my third Grand Prix tournament so it’s all about learning and improving.  "I’m ranked 654 at the moment but I want to get up the ladder. I had been in the top 100 in the juniors nationally but then moving into the seniors you have to start at the bottom again."  Matharu had not only boosted his confidence with his midweek wins for Colebridge against West Midlands Phones and against Wellesbourne, but he also enlisted the help of British legend Desmond Douglas.  "I went training with Desmond Douglas at Wood Green centre of excellence on Thursday. If you can’t improve with Des coaching, you never will," said Matharu.

The improvement has already been seen on the table. Matharu reached the semi-finals of the Liverpool Grand Prix band five event, and then progressed to the finals of bands five and six in Cardiff.  It means that as well as facing Perry, Ireland’s Ryan Flood and Huntingdonshire’s Shaun Murray in his men’s singles group tomorrow, he has moved into the band four and five singles competitions which take place today, as well as the under-21s.  "It’s a step-up in standard, simply because all the top players come to the Grand Prix events," said Matharu. "They all want the ranking points."

While Matharu faces a mighty challenge, Birmingham team-mate Scott Prime faces an even tougher task. England No 1 and world veterans champion Alan Cooke lines up in his group, along with Surrey’s Dorian Robinson and Ireland’s Ian Ritchie.  Birmingham champion Micky Browne, Leamington’s Earl Sweeney, Stafford’s Andy Frain and Kingshurst’s Luke Hemming will also be flying the Midlands flag.

In the women’s singles, Wolverhampton’s Helen Lower is the third seed behind Chinese top seed Sun Jin.  Lower, the England No 4 faces Warwickshire’s Helen Turner in her group.