Staged on Sunday at the National Gymnasium, the President’s Cup Table Tennis tournament saw the emergence of fresh talent as two Berbicians, Dane Johnson and Tiffany Lord, came out on top in the Novice Boys and Novice Girls categories respectively.
The tournament, a brainchild of Guyana’s President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, brought together young table tennis players from across the country and featured several categories including Novice Boys, Novices Girls, “B” Class Open, Doubles and Open. Over in the Novice Boys bracket, Johnson, a product of the Berbice Table Tennis Summer Camp, was the champion, defeating his opponent with scores of 11-2, 11-7, 11-8 to record a 3-0 win in the final.
Meanwhile on the distaff side of the Novice category, Lord also a graduate of the Berbice summer camp, prevailed, securing the championship with a decisive 3-0 win (11-6, 11-7, 11-4) in the final match over Aliyah Hector. The “B” Class Open category saw Malachi Moore crowned as the winner after a hard-fought final match against Colin Wong. Moore’s journey to the top included victory over strong competitor Umar Percival and while Wong got past Samara Sukhai who had earlier defeated veteran Xen Goliath in a thrilling five set encounter.
Meanwhile, the Doubles Open event proved to be an exciting showcase of teamwork and skill as Moore and Wong teamed up to devastating effects, claiming the championship title with a final score of 3-1 (11-7, 11-9, 3-11, 11-6) against the equally formidable duo of Niran Bissu and Elishaba Johnson. Moore and Wong earlier defeated Nigel Bryan and Joel Alleyne to book their spot in the final while Bissu and Johnson defeated Umar and Levi Percival. This inaugural President’s Cup Table Tennis Tournament was part of a six-discipline series that was organized by President Ali who also sponsored prizes.
The competition provided a platform for emerging athletes to showcase their skills and gain valuable competitive experience.
