Table tennis boss upbeat entering regional event
Andrew Lue, president of the Jamaica Table Tennis Association (JTTA), says he is expecting a good showing from local players when they travel to Guyana for the Caribbean Region Table Tennis Federation (CRTTF) Mini-Cadet (U-11) and Pre-Cadet (U-13) Table Tennis Championship.
The tournament, which will be held in the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall in Georgetown, is set for October 14 – 19. The events that will be contested are Team Events (boys and girls); Doubles Events (boys, girls, and mixed); and Single Events (boys and girls).
Medals will be presented to each competitor in the first, second, and third places in the Doubles and Team Events, while trophies will be awarded to the winners of the first three absolute places in the Singles.
“The team will give a good account of themselves as I am expecting good performances from the players,” Lue told the Jamaica Observer.
“We have Ajani Spencer, our national champion in the boys’ Under-11 category, Logan Royes, our national champion in the boys’ Under-13 category, and Keera Whyte, our national champion in the girls’ Under 13 category. These are three national champions that will be the spearhead of the team, and we expect a good performance from them,” Lue added.
Lue said that training has been going well for the players and they are ready for competition.
“We have been preparing the players at the national quad training recently. After the national championship, they [players] have been training at their clubs and we will resume national quad training for a week or so to put on the finishing touches,” said the president.
TEAMS: Under-9 Boys – William Lei (Supersonic TTC); Jathneil Todd (Infinity TTC); Shacoil Golding (Whitfield Young Stars TTC); and Chevev Corrie (Hellshire Heights TTC). Under-11 Boys – Ajani Spencer (Hellshire Heights TTC); Anthony Bird (Whitfield Young Stars TTC); Ajaani Hall (Walfarm TTC); and Nicquan Smith (Whitfield Young Stars TTC). Under-13 Boys – Logan Royes (SUTTA); Ajani Spencer (Hellshire Heights TTC); Gmarco Smith (Portsmouth Primary); and Hepton Thompson (Johnathan Grant High). Under-13 Girls – Keeara Whyte (Angels Table Tennis Academy); Kayan Denton (Waterhouse TTC); and Abigail Bramwell (Johnathan Grant High). Under-15 Boys – Gari Wythe (Kingston College); Logan Royes (SUTTA); Brian Blake (Jamaica College); and Kareem Powell (Calabar High). Under-15 Girls – Tsenaye Lewis (SUTTA); Le-Anna Smith (Angels Table Tennis Academy); Karecia Peterkin (Waterhouse TTC); and Kayan Denton (Waterhouse TTC). Under-19 Boys – Azizi Johnson (Wolmers’ Boys); Joel Butler (Kingston College); Andre Richardson (Angels Table Tennis Academy); and Justin Halstead (Angels Table Tennis Academy). Under-19 Girls – Tsenaye Lewis (SUTTA); Olivia Petrekin (Greater Portmore TTC); Janel Blake (Greater Portmore TTC); and Jada Josephs. Junior Boys’ Doubles – Justin Halstead/Rasheed Clarke; Joel Lamm/Logan Royes; Azizi Johnson/Cezare McGhie; and Joel Butler/Gari Wythe. Junior Girls’ Doubles – Tsenaye Lewis/Karecia Peterkin; Le-Anna Smith/Keera Whyte; and Olivia Petrekin/Janel Blake. Junior Mixed Doubles – Azizi Johnson/Tsenaye Lewis; Le-Anna Smith/Rasheed Clake; and Gari Wyhte/Gray and Wyhte. Men’s Open – Kane Watson; Christopher Marsh; Rohan Lewis; and Alphanso Morris. Women’s Open – Solesha Young; Tsenaye Lewis; Olivia Petrekin; and Keeara Whyte. Men’s Over-40 – Rohan Lewis; Roberto Byles; Christopher Marsh; and Alphanso Morris. Men’s Rural – Mark Phillips; Paulton Madden; Rudolph Sinclair; and Sean Wallace. Men’s Doubles – Roberto Dino Byles/Christopher Marsh; Mark Phillips/Kane Watson; Marlon Alberts/Sean Wallace; and Christopher Baboolal/Ricardo Lee. Women’s Doubles – Tsenaye Lewis/Solesha Young; Juanita Baxter/Shenique Clare-Mussington; and Janel Blake/Olivia Petrekin. Mixed Doubles – Roberto Byles/Shenique Clare-Mussington; Ryan Peters/Juanita Baxter; Azizi Johnson/Tsenaye Lewis; and Christopher Lyn/Olivia Petrekin. Male Parish Team – St. Catherine; Portland; Kingston; and St. Andrew. Female Parish Team – St. Andrew and Kingston. Coaches – Dale Parham and Sandra Riettie. Team manager – Andrew Lue.