– Move over Michelle John and Trenace Lowe. There is a new kid on the block and his name is Nigel Bryan
By Donald Duff
Their battles have been epic ones and have taken place at home here in Guyana and elsewhere in the Caribbean, but there is a new face of table tennis in Guyana and the name is not Lowe nor John but Bryan.
Ever since former Caribbean men’s singles champion Sydney Christophe migrated to the US, Michelle John and Trenace Lowe have carried Guyana’s table tennis on their shoulders that is, until recently.
Now, Guyana can boast of two Caribbean junior champions John, who is the reigning Caribbean girls’ champion, and Nigel Bryan who won the boys’ 15 years and under singles title at the just- concluded 11th annual Caribbean and Cadet championships held at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
And while the critics will point to the absence of some of the stronger regional teams such as Cuba, Puerto Rico and Santo Domingo, it is nothing but a staggering achievement for the Under-15 player who defeated players much older than himself whilst playing unbeaten throughout the championships.
In an exclusive interview with Stabroek Sport, I was surprised to learn that Bryan had been playing the sport for only three years.
While a student at the Gamaliel Academy, Bryan was spotted by national coach Linden Johnson but the young third form secondary school student can also claim genes for his abundant talent.
His mother Portia Bryan had participated in the then GUYSTAC table tennis championships and Bryan took an early liking to the sport, playing at home along with his brothers.
He has two sisters, Latoya, and a twin sister Naomi along with three brothers Gary, Mike and David.
Bryan had his first taste of international success when in 2006 he participated in a mini-cadet tournament in Trinidad and Tobago and won the boys’ under-15 singles title beating Khadeem Moore in the final and he got the better of Moore again in the semi-finals of the Under-18 singles competition at this year’s Caribbean championships.
Bryan’s second participation at the mini-cadet championships was last year when the Guyana team took part in the tournament held in Santo Domingo.
He gained three bronze medals in the boys’ singles, boys’ doubles with overseas-based Jamal Abrams and in the team events with Leevon Beaton.
The exposure fuelled Bryan’s drive to be better and back home he began to upset the big boys especially in tournaments.
The return of the annual national championships in February could not have come at a more opportune time.
Bryan knew that this was the opportunity he was waiting for. He had to prove himself. The result – he won the junior boys’ singles crown defeating Darwin Walcott in the final.
For good measure and to further emphasize his rapid growth and dominance, he won the under-21 singles title beating Joel Alleyne in the final.
Bryan proved that he was not only a singles player when he teamed up with Lowe to win the junior mixed doubles crown and with Ronaldo Bharrat to capture the boys’ under-18 doubles title.
What motivates this young racquet wielder is, however, his love for the sport.
“I like playing table tennis, it helps one to be active,” he said.
Recalling this year’s Caribbean championships, Bryan admitted to being a trifle scared when he saw the opposition.
“When I walked into the hall on the first day and saw the Jamaican players who were looking so crisp, I was nervous as I had never seen so many players before,” he said.
But soon it was time for action and the butterflies went away even though in a strategic move Bryan was selected to play in the boys’ under-18 team events and not the under-15s.
Never-the-less he was to play unbeaten in the team events and among his scalps was Don Petinaud Walker who reached the finals of the boys under-18 singles competition.
Playing unbeaten in the team events would surely have made Bryan the favourite to cart off the boys’ 18-years and under singles title.
But the GTTA team management had other ideas and when the individual events started Bryan was placed in his rightful age group with the 15 years and under boys.
The result was gold!
He blew past Moore in the semis and then took apart Meshach Pillai in the finals winning the second game 11-0.
Bryan said there was some amount of motivation for the 11 love score as he was promised a cash incentive by Harold Hopkinson if he was able to `cop’ (Beat him under five points) the youngster.
“He told me he would give me something if I beat the guy under four,” Bryan recalled smilingly.
That, it appeared, was all the incentive Bryan needed and an 11-0 score probably unprecedented at this level was the result.
Bryan was realistic of his chances of winning gold in the boys’ under-18 category.
“It would have been a harder task to win the final,” he said.
His next goal is to win the under-18 singles title at next year’s championships and plans to train harder next year in order to achieve that goal.
Bryan says he plays four days a week during the school term and every day during the holidays.
He is indebted to his family, the current Chinese coach who worked tirelessly with him doing multi ball and other drills to get him ready, local coaches Godfrey Munroe, Colin France and Linden Johnson and others who have played a role in his success.
He might be the crown prince of local table tennis. He might even have supplanted Lowe and Johnson as the most promising player on the local scene. But there is a long road ahead for Bryan if he wants to be considered among the greatest table tennis players this country has ever produced. For the list is long. But that is another story.
