Hopes are rising that an attempt to fast-track 11-point scoring instead of 21 on the whole world of table tennis from international play down to local leagues could be stopped.

At the annual meeting of the International Table Tennis Federation on April 26 in Osaka, Japan, Finland may have saved the day by putting down a counter-proposal that event organisers at all levels would be able to decide in future whether to use 21 points or 11.

For local players in Brighton and Sussex, there is another fountain of hope. Patcham-based Sussex national councillor Carol Beames said: "It is possible that if the Osaka meeting went in favour of 11 points the English Table Tennis Association would allow local leagues to make the choice between the two systems.

"So, it is unlikely that everyone would be forced into 11 point scoring as they were with the larger ball."