The Berbice Schools Table Tennis Competition, which was held on Saturday, April 09th at the Berbice High School Auditorium, came off with a bang.
Organised by the Steering Committee of the Berbice Table Tennis Association, the tournament was sponsored by the Youth, Sport and Culture Ministry.
Over 72 players participated, with players’ ages ranging from eight to 21. The competition, an indication of the resurgence of table tennis in the Ancient County after a hiatus of close to two decades, was keenly contested in all five categories of play.
Five girls participated in the competition — two Under-10, one Under- 13 and two Under-15.
In the 21-and-Under category, Ian Bagot of the Port Mourant Training School had to pull all the stops in an epic five-set battle against Ryan Anderson. After losing the first set at six, Bagot rallied to take the second at eight. He then lost at eight. However, he rallied to secure the final two sets at four and nine, to come out winner (6-11, 11-8, 6-11, 11-4, 11-4). Third place went to Luen David, who defeated fourth-placed Derrick Cadogan.
The Under-18 category saw some 32 participants competing, with the top four in the Under-15 category being allowed to participate. In the end, it was Under-15 player Bryton Murray of the New Amsterdam Multilateral who defeated schoolmate Dennison Mentore in the final (11-9, 11-4, 11-3). Earlier, in one of the semi-final matches, Mentore was taken to five sets by eventual third-place winner Joshua Lalbachan, before winning the fifth set at 12-10. Julian Hanif of Berbice High School finished fourth.
The 15-and-Under category produced some of the most telling rivalries, with Joshua Lalbachan of the New Amsterdam Multilateral taking revenge on old rival and pal Bryton Murray, after his loss at the recent Berbice Open. He won the contest 3-1, (11-9, 11-6, 5-11, 17- 15). Julian Haniff was again in the picture, finishing third; with Ravi Singh of the Line Path Secondary School of Skeldon ending in fourth position.
The Girls’ Under-15 competition saw a round robin playoff which was won by Anita Alleyne, with Joylyn Conway second and Cristine Surujpaul third.
Joshua Conway defeated Joshua Butts 11-3, 11-4 in the finals of the Boys’ 13-and-Under category, to take top honours. Shaquan Spencer defeated Retanan Timmers in the battle for third place in the eight-man contest.
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