Carenage Blasters claim pair of Solo ping pong titles

CARENAGE Blasters’ trio of Jesse Dookie, Luc O’Young and Aaron Wilson combined for a 3-1 victory over Arima Hawks to capture the 2019 Solo Nationals Teams Championship Division One Open title, on Wednesday night.

Blasters also captured the Division Three Open title and finished runner-up in the Women’s Open to cap off a successful tournament.

Dookie and Young gave Blasters a perfect start, at the National Racquet Centre in Tacarigua, crushing a partnership of national players, Reeza Burke and Arun Roopnarine, 11-9, 11-8, 11-2, 12-10, 11-7.

Up next, Wilson, the TT Table Tennis Association’s senior player of the year, gave Blasters a 2-0 lead, beating Anson Wellington 11-5, 11-4, 11-8. Arima Hawks fought back in the third game, with Roopnarine dropping O’Young 11-7, 11-3, 11-7. However, Carenage sealed the win in their fourth event and third singles match, with Wilson returning for his second victory, by a scoreline of 11-7, 11-6, 14-12 over Burke. It was a fitting finale for Dookie, O’Young and Wilson, who breezed through Saturday’s quarter-final and semifinal stages, winning both 3-0, over PowerGen and WASA, respectively. Carenage Blasters also picked up the Division Three title with a 3-1 victory over Crusaders in the final. Irvin Sampath gave Crusaders an early lead after dropping Nicholas O’Young 11-6, 7-11, 12-10, 11-8. However, Blasters’ Nicholas Lee won his two singles matches and Jamali Mauge won the other as they secured a relatively comfortable title victory.

Meanwhile, Spin Jabberz from Tobago captured the Division Two Open title after defeating Powergen 3-1 on Saturday. Jalen Kerr and Javier King of Spin Jabbers paired up to defeat Wesley Dookhoo and Rod Singh 11-2, 13-11, 11-5.

Another national stand-out Catherine Spicer brought PowerGen back into the contest with a 11-8, 11-8, 13-11 victory over Orel Cooper, before Spin Jabbers’ King and Kerr sealed a win each in the following two singles matches, beating their respective opponents, Singh 11-9, 11-3, 4-11, 9-11, 11-9 and Spicer, 4-11, 12-10, 9-11, 11-9, 11-8, in two gruelling encounters.

Spin Jabberz also entered the title match following a 3-0 semifinal win on Saturday.

In the Women’s Open final Ashley Quashie of Carenage Blasters made light work of Queen’s Park’s Chloe Fraser with a 11-3, 11-4, 11-9 win. Brittany Joseph then initiated the Parkites’ comeback by winning her singles match, 11-8, 11-2, 11-4, 11-3 over Shreya Maharaj. Fraser and Joseph combined to make it 2-1 to Queen’s Park, beating Quashie and Maharaj in a brilliant come-from-behind rally, 7-11, 8-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-7. Joseph completed the win with a victory over Quashie, with the former withdrawing before the end of the match.