Britton, Joseph take top honours at Super Singles tourney

QUEEN'S Park players Shemar Britton and Brittany Joseph captured the male and female categories respectively of the Super Singles Table Tennis Tournament, on Wednesday night, at the National Racquet Centre, Tacarigua.

Guyanese Britton, who is a law student at UWI, completed the six-man round robin final with four wins and one loss against top local player Aaron Wilson. The 21-year old Britton, who copped his second tournament title in succession, edged out team-mate Derron Douglas 3-2 (7:11, 11:8, 12:10, 6:11, 11:9) (QPCC); Aaron Edwards 3-0 (11:, 12:10,11:5), (Carenage Blasters) ; Jesse Dookie 3-0 (11:4, 12:10,13:11), (Arima Hawks) ; Arun Roopnarine 3-2 (9:11, 11:5, 11:7, 6:11, 11:9), and lost to Carenage Blasters Aaron Wilson 2-3 (11:6, 9:11, 8:11,11:9, 12:14).

Britton said, “It is a pleasure to win such a gruelling tournament coming up against the best five players in the tournament based on form. The tournament was a lot more physically challenging than I was used to and I started battling with dizziness and cramps coming down to the end but, it feels really good to pull it off.”

Commenting on the performances of his team-mates Derron Douglas and Brittany Joseph, “It is amazing to see Derron's growth over the last year. His game just seems to be improving leaps and bounds. His technical and tactical aspects (are) night and day (compared to) last year. Brittany just reaffirmed her position as the dominant woman player in the country right now.”

The 16-year-old, Derron Douglas grabbed an impressive second placed after securing victories against Roopnarine 3-2 (8:11, 11:8, 11:8, 5:11, 11:7), Wilson 3-1 (8:11, 11:9, 11:8, 13:11), Edwards 3-1 (11:6, 8:11, 11:4,11:9) and Dookie 3-1 (11:7, 9:11, 12:10, 11:7) with his only lost to Britton 2-3 (11:7,8:11, 10:12,11:6, 9:11).

The ever-dependable Wilson had a mixed evening but was still able to place third by winning three and losing two matches. Wilson defeated team-mate Dookie 3-0 (16:14, 11:9, 11:7), Britton 3-2 (6:11, 11:9, 11:8, 9:11, 14:12), Edwards 3-2 (4:11, 11:4, 8:11, 11:9, 12:10) and lost to Douglas 3-1 (11:8, 11:9,11:8, 13:11). Teenager Dookie was fourth, followed by Roopnarine while, Edwards rounded up the top six players.

Joseph defended her women's title in formidable fashion without dropping a set to any of her opponents on the night. After her victory she said, “It was satisfying to be able to end the year on a good note by defending my title. It was even more satisfying to play against two of my team-mates in the finals. It shows that our hard work is paying off.”

Joseph brushed aside her club mates Imani- Edwards Taylor 3-0 (11:6,11:9, 11:8) and Chloe Fraser 3-0 (11:4, 11:8,11:3) and then defeated UTT`s Chelsea Fong 3-0 (11:9, 12:10, 12:10). Fong secured the silver medal after beating Fraser 3-1 (15:13, 11:9, 11:13, 12:10) and Edwards-Taylor 3-1 (11:7, 6:11, 11:4, 11:3). Fraser snatched the bronze medal Edwards Taylor 3-1 (11:8, 13:11, 9:11, 11:3).