Former national champion and top-ranked local Curtis Humphreys got the decisive victory as WASA edged Carenage Blasters 3-2 to repeat as champions of Division One of the Solo Senior National Table Tennis Championships Team Tournament on Wednesday night.
With both teams locked at 2-2 in the best-of-five matches series at the National Racquet Centre in Tacarigua, it came down to a winner-take-all clash between Humphreys and national junior player Jesse Dookie, with the WASA ace coming away with a come-from-behind 8-11, 11-8, 11-6, 13-11 triumph.
Earlier on in the tie, reigning national Under-21 and senior Singles champion Aaron Wilson handed Blasters the early initiative by beating Humphreys 8-11, 11-9, 11-2, 11-5 for a 1-0 lead.
However, another ex-national champion and top-seeded player Yuvraaj Dookram got WASA level with an 11-7, 11-4, 11-5 defeat of Dookie while Kenneth Parmanand put WASA ahead at 2-1 after his tense 6-11, 11-4, 11-6, 9-11, 11-4 beating of Luc O’Young.
But, Wilson extended the series to the fifth and deciding tie via his 11-5, 10-12, 11-2, 10-12, 11-5 win over Dookram.
In their semifinals on Saturday, WASA edged Arima Hawks 3-2 in a repeat of last year’s final, while Blasters slammed D’Abadie Youths, 3-0.
WASA had more to celebrate on the night as their women’s team of national under-21 and senior open singles champion, Brittany Joseph, Chelsea Fong and Ambika Sitram edged Arima Hawks’ mother and daughter team of Linda Partap-Boodhan and Rayanna Boodhan, 3-2 to keep hold of their title.
Partap-Boodhan provided some hope of her club by taking the opening match versus Fong, 12-10, 11-6, 13-15, 9-11, 11-7. But Joseph then brushed aside the younger Boodhan 11-3, 11-6, 11-5, only for the latter to pair with her mother for a stunning 11-9, 8-11, 10-12, 13-11, 11-9 doubles win, and a 2-1 lead.
Any hopes of an upset quickly faded as Fong redeemed herself by beating Boodhan 11-6, 11-4, 11-3 before Joseph snatched victory, courtesy her 11-8, 11-7, 8-11, 11-8 win over Partap-Boodhan.
The women’s Team event consisted of three clubs and was played on a round-robin basis with Arima Hawks and WASA securing 3-1 and 3-0 wins respectively over Gladiators.
Today, competition will continue with the start of the Open Singles, with top-ranked Wilson and Joseph putting their titles on the line at the same venue.
