A fired up Nigel Bryan served his way to championship honors in the Linden Table Tennis Open Championship male invitational 16s at the Mackenzie High school auditorium yesterday.
Bryan, one of Guyana’s top table tennis players, warmed up for the upcoming fourth Islamic Solidarity Games set for Azerbaijan by trouncing Elishaba Johnson three sets to one in the final and assert his dominance while sharpening his serves and loops for the more competitive games set for May 12th-22nd.
He won the first set convincingly 11 – 8 while Johnson surrendered the second 5-11. Johnson took the third 11-7. The final set however, ended in favor of Brian 11 – 3 owing to his strong serves and returns.
The most competitive match of the evening however saw Bryan dismissing former national player Andy Anderson three sets to two in the semifinal of the invitational event.
Anderson took the first set 11-6 before Bryant bounced back to take the next two 11-5 and 11-8. Anderson though, rolled back the years to win the fourth 11 – 8. It was good test of character for Bryant who started the final game strongly to lead 5-1 and eventually take the set and the match 11 – 3.
Maurice Cummings won the eagerly contested Linden male Open final by defeating Shavin Greene three sets to two to earn himself the title bragging rights for an entire year.
Meanwhile, Elishaba Johnson held his composure and executed the basics to win the B-Class Open final, three sets to one
against Nicholas Romain. Johnson, who was down 1-7 in the first game, came back to tie the game at 8, 10, 11 and 12 before eventually taking it 14 – 12. He took the second game 11-8 before Romain struck back in the third, winning it 11-9 to display a mini resistance. His efforts, however, were thwarted by a relentless Johnson who served his way to title by taking the final set 11-6.
Priscilla Greaves continued to assert her dominance in female table tennis after taking the girls’ 18-years-and-under title by winning all four of her match-ups without dropping a game in a formidable effort. The games, which were played on a round robin basis, saw Nevaeh Clarkston and Thuraia Thomas placing second and third respectively.
Also a feature or the event, was the Under 13 Open category which went to Krystian Sahadeo who defeated Dhanesh Persaud. Nine-year-old Persaud however, bounced back to serve his way past Clarkston 16 – 14 and 13 – 11 to take the C- Class open final which was played on Sunday evening.
Other results played among the Lindeners include Trevor Vangenderen, who took the boys Under 18 title, Cordell Adams won the boys Under 21 title while Vernon Rodrigues took the Masters crown.
President of the Guyana Table Tennis Association, Godfrey Munroe, speaking at the conclusion of the event said: “I think the tournament is testimony to the hard work of the Linden Table Tennis committee. It’s all part of the effort to decentralize the sport and I’m proud because it’s going in the direction we want to go since we aim to host national events in Linden and other places to popularize the sport.”
Munroe also lauded the efforts of Banks DIH Limited for sponsoring the event while also pointing to the importance of having the Georgetown players competing in a different environment to further nurture their growth.
