Winners crowned at the junior table tennis tournament

Junior table tennis players were in action and some were crowned Champions at the Nassau Youth Table Tennis Club Tournament which was held at the LW Young Junior High School on Saturday.

At the tournament, competitors in the under-12 boys, under-16 boys and under-16 girls divisions played for medals and bragging rights. According to tournament organizer Sudan Khalfani, the players came out to play, Performing well.

“The competitiveness is there,” Khalfani said. “A lot of the kids just started practicing maybe two and a half months ago, and their skill level has drastically increased, so it’s just going to get better from here. We had some kids two years ago before COVID and so their skills are very good. Like I said, there’s always improvement and we’re looking forward to even better tournaments. ”

Mosiah Bain carted off the under-16 boys gold medal when they easily took care of Samuel Corbin in three straight sets. Bain won 11-8, 11-9 and 11-7.

Mathew Manickam took care of Aiden Gibson to win the Bronze medal. Gibson won the first set 11-8 but Manickam won the next two sets 11-9 and 11-9 to secure the Bronze medal.

In the under-16 girls division, Symone Symonette took the top spot from Angel Dorsette. Symonette won the first set 11-8. In the second set, Dorsette stormed back to win 11-7. Symonette regrouped and won the third set 11-7.

Winning the Bronze medal was Destiny Moss. She disposed of Daria Adderley in two sets, 11-8 and 11-7.

Khalfani said he was happy to see the girls out and competing, stating that they bring that competitive edge to the tournament.

“We could not leave the females out because a lot of times it is them who tend to have the most fire. This sport is about strength, balance and agility, and as a result, a lot of females excel in the sport. Their counter attack is good and their skill level is there. Sometimes women are the most dangerous competitors because this sport is not all about force, ”Khalfani said.

Ronal Fernando was too much for D’Angelo Gray in the under-12 boys division. Fernando dominated Gray in two straight sets, winning 11-4 and 11-2 to get the gold medal in that category.

Pedro Williams went up against Amari Forde for the Bronze medal match. Forde won the first set 11-9. Williams took his game up a notch and dominated Forde 11-5 and 11-6 in the next two sets to take home the Bronze medal.

Khalfani said they are looking forward to having more junior players entered in future tournaments. The date for the next tournament will be released later.

Khalfani thanked Fidelity Bank and the Bahamas Table Tennis Federation for ensuring that the event took place.