Wills, Bahadur and Johnson impress at GTTA’s Novice & Handicap Tournament 

The respective category winners posed for a group photo along with National Coach Linden Johnson (far left).
The respective category winners posed for a group photo along with National Coach Linden Johnson (far left).

The Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) Novice and Handicap Tournament concluded over the weekend at the National Gymnasium, with intense matches and standout performances from players across the country.  

Owan Wills of East Bank Demerara emerged as the Handicap Open Singles champion after a hard-fought victory over Krystian Sahadeo in an exhilarating five-set final. Wills, starting with a +1 handicap, overcame Sahadeo (-6) with scores of 11-8, 11-7, 4-11, 11-13, and 11-7 to secure a 3-2 win. His journey to the title included dominant

performances in the semifinal, where he swept past Xenophon Goliah (-4) 11-3, 11-7, 11-7, and in the quarterfinals, where he defeated Christopher Nelson (+2) 3-0. 

Sahadeo’s path to the final included a 3-1 semifinal victory over Malachi Moore (-6), a player who himself had defeated Jaden Trotman (0) 3-0 in the quarterfinals. Despite losing in the final, Sahadeo showed resilience throughout the tournament, including a notable group-stage upset at the hands of West Demerara’s Devanand Boodhoo (+3), who overturned a two-set deficit to win 3-2.  

In the Novice Open category, Jonathan Bahadur of West Demerara claimed the title with a straight-set win over Lester Thomas in the finals. Bahadur secured his 2-0 victory with scores of 11-9 and 12-10. The joint third-place finishers were Alyssa Troyer, who lost a closely contested semifinal to Thomas 1-2, and Jhonny Carpio, who fell to Bahadur 0-2 in the other semifinal.  

Berbice’s Aria Johnson showcased her potential by dominating the Novice Under-13 category in a round-robin format. Johnson’s consistency saw her finish at the top of the table, ahead of Marian Academy’s Ethan Marks in second place and Agricola’s Fabianna John in third. Kadem Wickham of Marian Academy placed fourth, while Diamond’s Mia Barrow rounded out the standings.  

 Following the conclusion of the matches, prizes were presented to the top performers in each category.