Kenneth Parmanand was the unlikely hero as he defeated Luc O’Young in the fifth and deciding match to earn host WASA I a 3-2 triumph over Carenage Blasters in the final of the inaugural WASA Tag Team Table Tennis Tournament on Sunday.
With both teams locked at 2-2 in the best of five series, it came down to the encounter between Parmanand and O’Young which the host player won 6-11, 11-7, 9-11, 12-10, 11-6 at WASA Sports and Cultural Club, Farm Road, St Joseph to earn his team the $1,500 first prize while Blasters got $800.
Winners of five of the last six local competitions he has entered, Aaron Wilson had given Blasters the best start possible with an 11-3, 10-12, 11-5, 12-10 defeat of Parmanand in the opening match.
However, Curtis Humphreys then drew WASA I after he outlasted O’Young 11-7, 7-11, 9-11, 11-2, 16-14.
Humphreys and Parmanand then teamed up in the doubles to win 11-7, 11-5, 13-11 over Wilson and O’Young to move to within a match of the title.
But Wilson kept his team alive courtesy a tense 11-8, 10-12, 11-7, 8-11, 11-9 defeat of Humphreys in a clash of the country’s top two men’s players to set up the fifth and deciding match, which Parmanand won.
In the semifinals, Carenage Blasters powered past Queen’s Park Table Tennis Club 3-0.
This after Luc O’Young humbled Joshua Maxwell 11-9, 11-9, 7-11, 11-6 and Aaron Wilson punished two-time national women’s champion, Brittany Joseph 11-7, 11-2, 11-7 before the Blasters duo won the doubles encounter, 11-9, 12-10, 6-11, 11-7.
WASA I also made light work of Curtis Humphreys Table Teis Academy (CHTTA), 3-0 with Parmanand beating Kyle Borneo11-9, 11-9, 11-6; Humphreys (C) sweeping past his brother Alaric Humphreys 11-3, 11-9, 11-8 before the eventual champions secured an 11-8, 7-11, 11-4, 9-11, 11-9 doubles victory.
The semifinal losers were both awarded $400.
RESULTS
Quarterfinal
Queen’s Park TTC 3 bt Invaders 0
Aaron Edwards bt Andrew Alexander 11-6, 6-11, 5-11, 12-10, 11-6
Joshua Maxwell bt Franklyn Seechan 4-11, 11-13, 11-7, 11-8, 11-5
Brittant Joseph/J. Maxwell bt F. Seechan/A. Alexander 11-7, 11-8, 11-13, 11-9
WASA I 3 bt Survivors 0
Curtis Humphreys bt Isa Mohammed 11-2, 11-7, 11-9
Kenneth Parmanand bt Musaahib Newaj 11-9, 11-5, 11-5
C. Humphreys/K. Parmanand bt I. Mohammed/M. Newaj 11-6, 11-5, 11-8