RETIRED Barrow firefighter Steve Bushell picked up his table tennis bat once more to great effect in Germany.
Bushell was part of the United Kingdom squad at the German Fire Service Table Tennis Team Open in Dusseldorf.
The UK sent a strong contingent of three teams of three to compete against a team from the Netherlands and 11 sides from across Germany.
The competition was held over two gruelling days, with Bushell part of the UK second squad, also including Chris Bekli and Jane Bevan, who topped their group on the first day.
The second day put them in a group consisting of other group winners.
Strong performances saw them win the group, putting out two German teams and the UK third team, who in turn had dispatched the Netherlands squad in their previous group.
Against all the odds, another victory against German opposition in the semi-finals meant Bushell and his team found themselves up against a strong German squad and a partisan crowd in the final.
As with all the group matches, the doubles encounter was vital in the result, with Bushell and Bekli victorious, their outstanding doubles partnership only losing one match in the entire tournament.
Singles victories by Bekli and Bushell followed, and the team were crowned German Open champions.
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