Kaysan Ninvalle took the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) National Junior and Cadet Table Tennis Championships by the scruff of its neck walking off with two titles and a second place finish to emerge as the most dominant player of the three-day event which climaxed Sunday at the National Gymnasium.
The 10-year-old, baby-faced assassin was simply unstoppable in the boys’ 11-years-and-under category scoring a comfortable 3-0 win in the title match against Dhanesh Persaud. Nine–year-old Colin Wong placed third.
Not content with one national title under his belt, Ninvalle next took his talents to the U13 category where, after a furious final against the attacking Nyron Bissu, he emerged with his second title following his 3-1 defeat of Bissu in a match that had fierce rallies, loops and counter loops and smashes with pin point accuracy.
Showing a tactical acumen which belied his tender age, Ninvalle mixed his serves well and played the big points perfectly which stamps him undoubtedly as the next big star in the sport.
He then threw down the gauntlet to the U15 boys and made a truism of the proverb `a little axe does cut down big tree’ when he dispatched the much bigger and taller Vincent Henry 3-2. The precocious upstart then added the scalp of the diminutive Terrence Rausch 3-0 before falling to top seed Nicholas Romain at the final hurdle losing 0-3 in the four-player, round robin final.
Ninvalle’s performance effectively overshadowed the boys’18-years-and-under victory by southpaw Kyle Edghill over the much-vaunted and top-seed Shemar Britton in the final.
Edgill won 3-1 in the final match of the eight player, round-robin event.
Britton, who defeated Wong, Johnson, Romain, Atherley, Persaud and Nicholas placed second while Wong, who defeated Johnson, Romain, Atherley, Persaud and Nicholas placed third.
In the 18 years and under girls round-robin final, the talented but temperamental Salenas Jackman defeated Nevaeh Clarkston 3-1, Aneka Phillips 3-2 and Dovanna Bess 3-2. Clarkston defeated Phillips and Bess for second place while Phillips defeated Bess for third place.
In the 13 years and under girls final, Clarkston defeated Abagail Martin 3-0. Janay Prescott Johnson was third.
Jackman also took the girls 15-years-and-under title by defeating Nevaeh Clarkston 3-0 in the final.
In the 13 years and under girls final, Clarkston defeated Martin 3-0 while the 11-years-and-under girls’ final was won by Thuraia Thomas who defeated Kassia Liverpool 3-0.
The nine years and under round robin final was won by Colin Wong who defeated Alexandre DeAbreu, Dhanesh Persaud, Christopher Sheppard and Paul David Bess while Jonathon Van Lange and Tahira Stall were the winners of the Novices male and female categories respectively.
The tournament attracted over 150 entries with players coming from Corriverton and Bartica.
