National junior cricketers Jonathan Van Lange and Niron Bissu put aside their cricket equipment and picked up their table tennis racquets, joining forces to win the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) in collaboration with the National Sports Commission (NSC) Open two-player, team, table-tennis tournament.
The tournament, sponsored by overseas-based Mike and Sydney Christophe, two former national men’s singles champions of Guyana, produced entertaining tennis despite the absence of a number of high profile players.
Among those who did not participate in the tournament were national men’s singles champion, Christopher Franklin and the number two male player Shemar Britton who is studying in Trinidad.
Also missing were national players Joel Alleyne and Nigel Bryan.
On the distaff side Natalie Cummings, who reached the last 16 at the recent Commonwealth Games, was also a no show.
However, the future stars of the sport were well in attendance with Olympian Chelsea Edghill leading the brigade which also included Van Lange, Bissu, Elishaba Johnson, Isaiah Layne, Krystian Sahadeo, Jamaal Duff, the Wong brothers, Miguel and Colin, Jasmine Billingy and Samara Sukhai.
In the final Van Lange and Bissu defeated the Wong brothers 3-0 with Van Lange defeating Colin Wong 3-0, Bissu toppling Miguel Wong 3-2 and the pair of Van Lange and Bissu winning the doubles against Wong/Wong 3-0.
Van Lange and Bissu had reached the final after an epic 3-2 defeat of the Edghill/Duff combination.
The match went to a decider game where Bissu prevailed 3-1 over Duff.
That match also produced the highest quality of tennis in the tournament during a pulsating five-setter between Edghill and Van Lange that showcased every shot in the book and which was eventually won by Edghill 3-2.
There were fierce rallies on the backhand side, switches that would make one dizzy, loops and counter loops and forehand smashes as clean as anyone ever hit.
The match was a treat for the spectators which included former national men’s singles champion Trevor Low.
Edghill had earlier defeated Bissu in the opener coming from two sets down to triumph3-2 while Van Lange defeated Duff 3-1 to level the match.
The pivotal doubles encounter was won by Bissu and Van Lange 3-1 leaving Edghill with the tough task of stopping the nation’s number three men’s player which she did before Bissu prevailed.
In the other semi-final top seeds Johnson and Priscilla Greaves went down to the Wongs 1-3.
Johnson defeated Colin Wong 3-0 while Greaves lost 1-3 to Miguel Wong. Despite a stubborn fight Greaves/Johnson lost the doubles 2-3 leaving Colin Wong to close out the tie with a 3-0 defeat of Greaves.
Johnson and Edghill were the most outstanding players.
