PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – France-based Caribbean champions Dexter St Louis and Rheann Chung took different paths but emerged individual champions for Trinidad and Tobago at the Reliability Maintenance Services Limited (RMSL) Super Singles table tennis tournament on Saturday.
St Louis played unbeaten and did not drop a single set in comfortably landing the men’s title while Chung suffered an upset loss to Ashley Quashie and only captured the women’s crown on a tie-breaker at the Jean Pierre Complex. A four-time Caribbean men’s singles champion, St Louis dismissed Barbadian brothers and past Caribbean champions Kevin and Trevor Farley en route to his unblemished run as champion.
Against Kevin Farley, St Louis won 11-2, 11-7, 11-8 and the reigning Caribbean champion beat Trevor Farley at four, two and nine.
National player Michael Nanton and other local players Lionel Darceuil and Yuvraaj Dookram also felt the brunt of the southpaw’s quality and lost 0-3.
St Louis took the men’s crown with maximum 10 points and Kevin Farley placed second with nine points.
Farley won all his other matches, defeating Darceuil in straight sets, and Dookram, Nanton and his brother Trevor Farley by margins of three sets to one. Chung, Quashie and Astra Edwards all ended on seven points in the women’s play-off but Chung emerged champion with a better overall record in her results. Quashie outgunned Chung in a thrilling five-setter, defeating the reigning Caribbean women’s champion 4-11, 12-10, 11-8, 10-12, 11-9, but lost to Astra Edwards, who defeated her 11-9, 3-11, 11-9, 5-11, 11-4.
All three players defeated Catherine Spicer and Renuka Sitram in their other matches in the five-player women’s round-robin finals.
