Jordan Thong completed a treble at the Trinidad and Tobago Table Tennis Association (TTTTA) Silver Bowl Age Group Championships.
Following Saturday’s (May 23) gold medal performance, in which she defeated Jannah Mohammed for the Under-19 girls' singles title 11-3, 11-6, 11-7, Thong returned to the courts yesterday at the Eastern Regional Indoor Sports Arena in Tacarigua. She secured the mixed doubles crown alongside her Queen’s Park colleague, Sekel McIntosh, prevailing in the final against Kymani Holder and Jinai Samuel 3-0 (11-8, 11-7, 11-8).
Josiah Joseph, the boys' Under-19 campaigner, followed in her footsteps by capturing two titles to cap off a successful tournament. Like Thong, Joseph of Powergen Table Tennis Club, endured a tedious play-off at the group stage. Emerging unbeaten from Group 2 to finish at the top, he defeated McIntosh 11-4, 11-3, 11-3 and swept Kyrell Samuel 3-0 (11-2, 11-2, 11-1).
In the semifinals, Joseph dispatched Group 6 winner Holder in straight sets (11-4, 12-10, 11-7) to earn a spot in the final against McIntosh. McIntosh had advanced after a hard-fought 3-2 semifinal win (11-5, 8-11, 11-7, 5-11, 11-9) over Malik Gopaul of the ARK Outsourcing Limited Crusaders.
However, fortune favoured Joseph, who went down 2-0 at the start. Determined for success, McIntosh drew first blood 11-7 and 13-11 to lead 2-0, but as he sought to wrap up the encounter in the third, Joseph produced a display of sheer determination to claim the win in the remaining three sets 11-8, 11-9, 14-12 for the boys U-19 singles crown.
Joseph's second title of the day came moments later. Teaming up with Raees Elahie in the U-19 boys' doubles, the unstoppable duo bounced back from a first-set loss (10-12) to overcome the pair of Gopaul and Nirav Basant, winning the next three sets 13-11, 15-13, and 11-8 to lift their hands to be acknowledged as champions.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth Rajah made no mistakes in a round-robin group that comprised Jannah Mohammed, Isabelle Myers, Zuri Radge Coomar (Powergen), and Hidayah Mohammed to secure the Under-15 girls' silverware. Proving to be a cut above the rest, Rajah topped the field with a perfect eight points, defeating Jannah Mohammed 11-9, 11-9, 11-5; Myers 11-3, 11-6, 11-9; Radge Coomar 11-6, 11-5, 11-4; and Hidayah Mohammed 11-4, 11-6, 11-8.
The boys’ equivalent saw Mateo Mollineau of the ARK Outsourcing Limited Crusaders get the better of teammate Ethan Mohammed in straight sets, 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-9), in the boys’ U-15 final.
In the girls' U-13 division, Everleigh McKenna and Zayden Sagramsingh were rewarded for their dominance. McKenna, representing Queen’s Park, rose to the occasion with a 3-1 triumph over Zuri Radge Coomar in the title match. McKenna snatched the early advantage by holding off her counterpart 11-7, only for Radge Coomar to hit back immediately with an 11-9 win to knot the scores. McKenna then dominated the remaining two sets, prevailing 11-6 and 11-5 to sew up the crown.
The boys’ U-13 final stood in stark contrast to the girls', as Sagramsingh sealed a lightning-fast victory in straight sets: 11-4, 11-4, 11-2.
Earlier in the tournament, McKenna had kick-started the double-crown club when she battled to a 3-1 (11-4, 11-5, 3-11, 12-10) victory over Ista Ramdatt for her first piece of silverware in the U-11 singles. In the boys' U-11 singles, Zuri Radge Coomar defeated Rivaan Basant 11-9, 11-8, 6-11, 11-3 to take the title.
