Dookram, Edwards-Taylor cop national table tennis titles

THE Queen’s Park Cricket Club (QPCC) pair of Yuvraaj Dookram and Imani Edwards-Taylor were in winners’ row when the National Senior Table Tennis championships concluded at the National Racquet Centre, Tacarigua on the weekend – clinching the respective men’s and women’s single titles.

Having featured in national men’s doubles and mixed doubles wins last month, Dookram continued his stellar form to top a field which included over 50 players. After getting a bye in the opening round of 64 phase, Dookram cruised past Ethan Ramcharan 3-0 (11-4, 11,-7, 11-4) in the round of 32 before defeating Anson Lowkie 3-1 in their round of 16 battle. Against Nicolai Barbour-Alexis in the quarterfinal, Dookram dropped the first set but still got a comfortable 4-1 victory. In the semifinals, Dookram had an almighty battle with Aaron Wilson (4-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-6, 10-12, 12-10) in a tense six-set thriller which he clinched 4-2.

Against the veteran Curtis Humphreys in the final, Dookram was again stretched but he got a another 4-2 win to seal the national singles title. Dookram started the finale with a bang as he won the first set 11-2 and took the second set 11-9. Humphreys took the third set and fifth sets as Dookram held a 3-2 lead heading into the sixth set. The sixth set ended up being the decisive one as Dookram won it 11-6 to walk away with the crown.

In the women’s singles, Edwards-Taylor rose to the spotlight in the absence of Chloe Fraser, who was last year named the junior and senior women’s Player of the Year. In her quarterfinal matchup, Edwards-Taylor was pushed in the second and third sets by Elizabeth Rajah but still got an 11-3, 11-9, 11-9 win. In the semis against PowerGen’s Jerisse Elder, Edwards-Taylor dropped the first set but battled back to get a 4-1 win.

In the final against QPCC teammate Jordan Thong, Edwards-Taylor again showed her quality with a 4-1 victory. She won the first 14-12, with Thong taking the second set 11-8. Edwards-Taylor completed the victory as she took the next three sets 11-6, 14-12 and 11-6.

Thong’s road to the final included wins over Makeisha Lewis and Linda Partap Boodhan whom she defeated 4-2 an exciting semifinal clash. AP