BASSETERRE St.Kitts, September 28th, 2011 -- Calvin Lake and Bevan Labadie were both crowned the Senior and Junior Table Tennis champions respectively in the recently concluded 2011 Independence Table Tennis Open held at the St Peters’ Community Centre on Monday 19th September 2011.
National Coach, Calvin Lake unseated Euclide Osburne in a convincing 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-5) through his 3rd ball attacking style of play to reassert his dominance in the local table tennis arena.
Titan Lee beat Brian Gillis 3-1 (11-7, 11-4, 9-11, 11-9) to secure the third position.
Euclide Osbourne, a surprise finalist, unseated Titan Lee 2-1 (11-9, 8-11, 11-8) through a balanced style of play and timely attack on the return balls. Osbourne showed that with tactical superiority and some luck anything was possible.
With over 30 participants, the event showcased the brightest and developing junior table tennis talent in the Federation, several of which attended the August 2011 Table Tennis Grassroots Camp.
The main highlights of the day however, were in the Junior Championship category where 10 athletes participated in two round robin groups.
The semi-finalists Teaje ‘TJ’ Johnson, Bevan Labadie, Ranier Richardson and Kevon Jandoo all showed confidence around the board, with varying styles, from an offensive game played by TJ and Ranier, to a more balanced approach by Kevon and Bevan.
In the semi-finals, the battle of the ECCB paddlers saw Bevan Labadie unseat his team mate Ranier Richardson 2-nil (11-5, 13-11) followed by TJ Johnson who faced a firm challenge from another rising talent Kevon Jandoo beating him 2-nil (11-8, 12-10).
In the finals of the Junior Championship category, TJ Johnson who sailed through to the knockout stage, threatened to cause an upset to Bevan Labadie, whom he had beaten (11-5, 11-8) during the qualifying stages of the event.
However, TJ’s sensational and ultra-offensive strokes were overturned with a more consistent blocking and stroke play by Bevan, to secure the first victory for the newcomer. Bevan’s agility and early timed strokes allowed him to impose his authority on the board and turned TJ’s errors to his advantage in winning the finals 2-nil (11-6, 11-2).
The SKNTTA proposed events for the months of October to December 2011 are:
• SKNTTA Community Coaching Caravan
• St Kitts and Nevis Table Tennis Business League, end-October 2011
• SKNTTA Table Tennis Camp, mid-December 2011
• St Kitts and Nevis Junior Championship, mid-December 2011
The public and table tennis enthusiasts are encouraged to participate and support the initiatives. Interested persons can contact us at skntta.dev@gmail.com
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