TT struggle in team sports at Commonwealth

It was a tough day for Team TTO aside from Dylan Carter’s silver medal with little show otherwise.

This country’s cyclists continued to struggle on the track at the Anna Meares Velodrome with Kwesi Browne, Njisane Phillip and Nicholas Paul all bowing out in the Keirin.

In round one, Brown placed third in heat one, trailing winner Patrick Constable of Australia by 0.128 and Malaysia’s Mohd Azizulkasni Awang who occupied the second qualifying spot.

Nicholas Paul in heat three was a distant fifth as Joseph Truman of England stormed into first place.

Phillip was last in heat four which was claimed by Scotland’s Jack Carlin.

The repechage provided a second shot at qualifying for TT’s riders but all failed to grasp the opportunity.

Browne placed second behind England’s Ryan Owens, +0.052 behind in heat 1. In heat two, Paul also missed out, coming second behind Hugo Baptiste of Canada. Phillip continued the trend, exiting with his compatriots, crossing second in heat three behind Wales’ Lewis Olivia.

In table tennis, Northern Ireland got the better of TT 3-1 despite the effort of veteran Dexter St Louis.

St Louis put TT ahead with a battling victory over Ashley Robinson 5-11, 11-5, 12-10, 11-6 but could not inspire a better performance from his teammates. Northern Ireland’s Paul McCreery levelled proceedings with a breezy 11-3, 11-2, 11-6 win over Yuvraaj Dookram.

The Northern Ireland pair of McCreery and Owen Cathcart put the Europeans in front with an 11-9, 11-9, 11-5 performance over Aaron Wilson and Dookram in doubles action. Cathcart then brushed aside St Louis 11-8, 11-9, 11-7 to complete a come-from-behind victory for Northern Ireland.

TT’s beach volleyball pair of Rheeza Grant and Abby Blackman also got their first taste of action but did not have a bright start. They went under in just 38 minutes 21-16, 21-12 to England’s Victoria Palmer and Jessica Grimson.

TT’s beach volleyball men began their Commonwealth campaign last night when they came up against St Kitts and Nevis’ St Clair Hodge and Shawn Seabrookes.

After a dismal start so far for TT’s cyclists, this country’s contingent will be hoping for a better showing in the Men’s Sprint qualifying which pedalled off at 11.32pm last night (TT time). Keron Bramble, Njisane Phillip and Nicholas Paul were all in action.

Mandela Patrick, Kale Wilson and Charlotte Knaggs will be back on the court again as squash action resumes at Oxenford Studios.

Patrick comes up against Sierra Leone’s James Fiyah at 12.30am in the Men’s Singles Consolation Plate semifinal. Wilson meets Joe Chapman of British Virgin Islands at 4am in the Men’s Singles Plate quarter-final. At 5.30am, Knaggs faces Cayman Islands’ Eilidh Bridgeman

Dylan Carter was back in the pool for the Men’s 100m freestyle in heat eight at 9.54am.