T&T trio of Luc O’Young, Derron Douglas and Jalen Kerr were all ousted in their respective quarterfinal matches of the main draw stage of their respective divisions when the 23rd Caribbean Region Table Tennis Federation (CRTTF) Cadet and Junior Championship Singles competition concluded in La Habana, Cuba on Saturday.
In the Junior Division, Group One three-player series, O’Young defeated Jamaican Malique Rose 11-6, 11-5, 11-7 and Cuba ‘B’ Carlos Fernandez 9-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-8 to end with a perfect 2-0 record and top spot.
But after receiving a round-of-16 bye in the main draw, O’Young went under to Cuba’s Ovidio Sanchez 2-11, 6-11, 8-11 with a semifinal spot at stake.
It was the same out for Douglas and Kerr in the Cadet Boys tournament after both players ended with 2-1 win loss records in their qualifying groups to move into the knockout stage as group runners-up.
In Group Three, Douglas defeated Dominican Republic’s Andres Lora 11-8, 11-6, 11-5 but went under to Cuba ‘A’ Raonel Labrador 11-9, 3-11, 6-11, 11-7, 8-11 before he secured a knockout spot with victory over Azizi Johnson of Jamaica 11-3, 11-8, 11-7.
Up next for Douglas was a round-of-16 encounter against Cuba’s Eider Padron which the T&T players won 9-11, 9-11, 11-2, 11-6, 11-9, before losing to another home town player, Dariel Marti, 10-12, 9-11, 9-11.
In Group Six, Kerr outplayed Dominican Republic’s Marcos Tavarez 11-7, 11-5, 12-10; stumbled against Cuba ‘B’ Eider Padron 5-11, 5-11, 5-11 but recovered to beat St Lucian Kenneth John 15-13, 11-7, 6-11, 11-6.
And in the round-of-16 he went under to Aruba’s Benny Chingho Chung.
The T&T players also competed in the doubles with Douglas and Kerr easing past Jamaicans Jordan Campbell and Azizi Johnson 11-6, 11-6, 7-11, 11-7 in the round-of-16.
The T&T duo was then stopped by Cubans, Adrian Perez and Raonel Labrodor 5-11, 9-11, 8-11.
