Local prodigy, Aaron Wilson captivated the audience on his way to capturing top spot in the Silver Bowl Table-Tennis Tournament which came off at the Central Regional Indoor Sports Arena, Tacarigua on Sunday.Fresh off securing two individual bronze medals in the Men's Under-21 and Open Divisions of the Senior Caribbean Table-Tennis Championship which ended last Wednesday in Martinique, as well as a men's team bronze with Curtis Humphreys, Arun Roopnarine and reigning national champion Yuvraaj Dookram, Wilson was in ominous form.
And in the championship match, the 16-year-old Wilson, who last monthw on the Caribbean Junior Championship crown defeated Dookram 11-7, 11-6, 11-5,Prior to his win in the final, Wilson who attends Belmont Boys Secondary (Intermediate) was in cruise control as he progressed from last-32 against Kamal Hunte and Davone Joseph before he defeated former five-time national champion Reeza Burke 11-8, 11-8, 8-11, 11-6 in the quarterfinals.
Up next was a clash with top ranked local and national captain Humphreys and came through with after a tense battle 11-/9, 10-12, 11-6, 6-/11, 11-8.During the lead-up to the final Wilson was seen icing his elbow and it was obvious that he and some of the other players were sore from the gruelling Caribbean Championships where they played three sessions daily, but in the end, his victory proved a sure healer.
In the women's category national 11-time singles champion Aleena Edwards had to withdraw with an injured shoulder at the semifinal stage, which left her national team-mates and team bronze medal winners in Brittany Joseph, Linda Partap-Boodhan and Catherine Spicer to contest the semis with veteran Merle Baggoo of Queen's Park Cricket Club.
Baggoo, with a David Mahabir defensive style stunned Spicer in five sets and Partap-Boodhan overcame her Arima Hawks team mate and top seeded Joseph in the semifinals.But in the final, Partap-Boodhan avoided another shocker, four sets win.
Meanwhile, the T&T Table Tennis Association through its President Stanley Hunt is seeking to send Joseph, Wilson and Roopnarine to Puerto Rico for a four-day training camp with Chinese national players from August 12-16, 2015. The Caribbean Region Table Tennis Federation has been awarded seven spots however airline tickets have to be sourced by TTTTA for players and a mandatory accompanying coach.