T&T's senior men and women table tennis teams both secured bronze medals when the 58th Senior Caribbean Table Tennis Federation (CTTF) tournament continued in Santo Domingo, yesterday.
In the bronze medal match, T&T got wins from veteran David Mahabir, 2014 national champion Yuvraaj Dookram and Arun Roopnarine to blank Guyana 3-0.
T&T's third place finish in the men's competition was an improvement of fourth from last year in Martinique after being crowned champions in 1980, 2009 and 2012.
The 65-year-old Mahabir, put T&T 1-0 ahead when he brushed aside Nigel Bryan 11-6, 14-12, 11-7 for a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five team series while Dookram battled past Shemar Britton 14-12, 11-8, 6-11, 7-11, 11-5 for a 2-0 advantage before Roopnarine alsowon in five sets over Elishaba Johnson 7-11, 11-8, 3-11, 11-5, 11-9 to earn a top three finish and a spot at the Pan American Table Tennis Championships.
Earlier in the day in the semifinal round, host Dominican Republic stopped T&T 3-0 with Emil Santos beating Mahabir 16-14, 11-5, 11-8; Samuel Galvez over Dookram 11-6, 8-11, 11-6, 11-9, and Isaac Vila, an 11-3, 11-3, 11-7 victor over Roopnarine.
Dominican Republic was due to face Puerto Rico in the gold medal match, after the latter edged Guyana 3-2 in the other semifinal.
When the tournament resumed yesterday morning, the T&T men trounced Martinique 3-0 for 2-1 Group Two record for second spot behind Puerto Rico and a spot in the semifinals.
Mahabir defeated Nicolas Poiret 11-9, 11-6, 11-6; Dookram outlasted Samuel Delepine 11-6, 10-12, 8-11, 14-12, and Roopnarine humbled Christian Victorin 14-12, 11-5, 11-6.Puerto Rico won its final round-robin match 3-0 over Curacao.
Second straight for T&T women
The T&T women's trio of Aleena Edwards, Linda Partap-Boodhan and Brittnay Joseph won a second straight team bronze after beating Barbados 3-0 in their final round-robin clash of the four-team series.
T&T, winners in 2004, 2008, 2009 and 2013 got the perfect start from 12-time national champion Edwards as she beat Danielle Walton 11-1, 5-11, 11-4, 11-5 for a 1-0 cushion.
National Under-18 champion and former senior champion as well Joseph then outplayed Janae Lewis 11-9, 11-5, 12-10 while top ranked local Partap-Boodhan steamrolled Jazel Griffith 11-2, 11-6, 11-1 for the win to end with a 1-2 record and the bronze medals to book a Pan American Championship ticket.
Host Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico compete for the gold medal.When action served off Sunday, T&T women were beaten by Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico by similar 3-0 margins, the same as the Barbadians to end the day 0-2.
Against Dominicam Republic, Joseph fell to Eva Britto 9-11, 7-11, 3-11; Edwards was overpowered by Yasrisis Ortiz 11-9, 3-11, 6-11, 10-12 and Partap-Boodhan went under to Esmerlyn Castro 7-11, 8-11, 9-11.
It was a similar case against Puerto Rico, with Carelyn Cordero beating Joseph 11-9, 11-7, 11-3; Paola Sanabria outlasting Edwards 11-9, 4-11, 7-11, 11-5, 11-5, and Yamillette Diaz easing past Partap-Boodhan 11-5, 11-9, 11-3.