By Donald Duff in St Lucia
Trinidad and Tobago continued to stake a strong claim for top honours at the 51st annual Caribbean Table Tennis Championships here in St Lucia when their France-based pair of Dexter St Louis and Rheann Chung combined to win the mixed doubles title yesterday afternoon.
The pair defeated Juan Vila jr. and Eva Brito by three games to one in the final.
In what turned out to be an anti-climactic final St Louis and Chung won in four games 12-10, 11-8, 9-11, 11-2 in a match that was more tactical than thrilling.
Earlier, St Louis and Chung’s semi-final match against Emile Santos and Lynette Vila was fiery from the outset.
St Louis/Chung won the first game by a narrow 11-9 margin but the Dominican Republic duo bounced back to take the second game 11-6.
But St Louis/Chung reeled off the next two games 11-4 11-5 to reach the final. In the second semi final Brito and Vila Jr. defeated surprise semi-finalists
Sherry Felix and Mark Dowell of Barbados 11-5, 11-7, 17-15.
The Barbadian pair had numerous chances to win the third game but squandered each and every one of them before bowing out with a bronze medal.
All the Guyana pairs with the exception of youngsters Sunil Logan and Akecia Nedd reached the round of eight before bowing out.
Nedd/Logan lost in the round of 16 to Barbadians Dowell and Felix. They had earlier beaten Chris Wells and Dawn Charles of St Lucia 9-11, 11-9, 11-6, 12-10 before going under 11-5, 8-11, 8-11, 14-12, 8-11 to the Bajans.
Of the other three pairs Trenace Lowe and Joel Alleyne gave Santos and Vila a tough fight before bowing out 7-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-6, 6-11.
Lowe/Alleyne had beaten Alaric Humphreys and Linda Partap Boodhan 11-6, 11-4, 7-11 and 11-2 in the first round and then took out Barbadians Kevin Farley and Judy Foster Young 9-11, 11-7, 11-6, and 11-8 in the round of 16.
The pair of Nigel Bryan and Natalie Cummings defeated Trevor Farley/Ann Reid 11-7, 11-8, 11-6 in the first round and Isaac Vila and Circia Diaz of the Dominican Republic 11-5, 12-10, 9-11, 11-7 in the next round. They however went under to St Louis/Chung in straight games at 7, 2 and 3.
The fourth pair Edinho Lewis/Chelsea Edghill beat Guadeloupe’s Gregory Currassier and Manoelle 13-11, 11-8, 12-14, 10-12, and 11-6 and also took care of Arun Roopnarine and Ja’Sher De Gannes 11-13, 11-8, 11-4, 13-11 coming from 6-10 down to win the fourth game.
They were however knocked out in the next round by Brito and Vila 5-11, 4-11, 11-7, 3-11.
