(Trinidad Guardian) Chelsea Edghill led the way as Guyanese players sparkled in the Silver Bowl Junior Table Tennis Championships over the weekend at Central Regional Indoor Sports Arena, Chaguanas.
The 14-year-old, who was crowned Caribbean under-13 champion in 2010, captured the under-15 and -18 titles, while her brother was the under-13 runner-up and their compatriot Jaraali Homer walked away with the girls’ crown in that division.
Edghill cruised past last year’s top-ranked under-13 and -15 player Brittany Joseph 11-5, 11-6, 11-5 in Saturday’s under-15 final, but was lucky in the under-18 title match the day after as Renuka Sitram went under in three straight games after being ahead in the closing stages of two of them.
After holding a commanding 10-6 lead in the third, the left-hander, who had lost the second game after leading 9-7, lost the last six points to go down 11-7, 14-12, 12-10.
Sitram had surrendered 6-11, 11-3, 11-8, 13-11 against cousin Ambika Sitram the day before in the under-21 semis, but Ambika had no answer for Catherine Spicer and the overwhelming favourite, who had brushed aside Dayna Samaroo (11-4, 11-3, 11-5) in the semis, took the title 11-7, 11-8, 8-11, 11-5.
Homer, who had lost to Joseph in under-15 semis, joined her compatriot Edghill in winner’s enclosure when she denied Nalini Boodoo 11-7, 11-6, 11-6 in the girls’ under-13 final. But Daniel Henriques struck back for Trinidad and Tobago when he defeated Edghill’s brother Kyle 12-10, 6-11, 11-7, 11-9 for the boys’ equivalent title.
Brandon Lee Young, who went under against Kyle in the semis, was an 11-4, 11-6, 11-6 winner over Messiah Walcott in the under-10 final, but the sister isle got some compensation when Ackayla Lucas got past Shreya Maharaj 11-5, 11-6 11-5 for the girls’ equivalent title.
Selected results:
Girls’ U-18 semis–R. Sitram bt B. Joseph 12-10, 11-9, 11-8; C. Edghill bt Artinea Gregoire 11-6, 11-6, 11-6
Girls’ U-15 semis–B. Joseph bt J. Homer 11-5, 11-9, 11-13, 11-7; C. Edghill bt Gyshan Lutchman 11-4, 11-6, 11-6.
