Table Tennis: Top Four Challenge Cup Sultan, Bristol, Lafortune, Barbé category winners |29 November 2017

Godfrey Sultan, Christy Bristol, Dyland Lafortune and Eldon Barbé are the category winners of the Top Four Challenge Cup. The round-robin competition was played at the Omnisports Gym at Roche Caïman on Sunday.

Sultan won the men’s division one on set score difference over Mick Crea, while Bristol beat all contestants by 4-0 score margins to win the women’s division one. In the last decisive matches in the boys’ division two and three, Dyland Lafortune came from two sets behind to beat Mael Youpa 3-2 and Eldon Barbé edged Gael Dugasse 3-2 to win their respective divisions.

Only the top four players from each division of the monthly challenge were eligible to play in the Top Four Challenge Cup. Boys’ division two and three were played on a round-robin best-of-five while the men’s and women’s division one were played on the round robin best-of-seven.

In the men’s division one, both Sultan and Crea were locked on two wins and one defeat each. Sultan was declared the winner after finishing with 9 sets for and 6 against compared to Crea’s +2 sets (9 for and 7 against).

In the first match, Sultan beat Crea 4-1 (11-7, 8-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-8) and lost 1-4 (9-11, 11-13, 13-11, 7-11, 6-11) to third placed Mario De Charmoy-Lablache in his second match. He won his third match 4-1 (9-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-7, 11-6) against Nicholas Esther.

Second placed Crea, having lost his first match against Sultan, could have been declared the winner had he beaten De Charmoy Lablache by a 4-0 margin in the last match but he won it 4-1 (6-11, 11-7, 13-11, 11-5, 11-9). Crea also beat Esther 4-2 (12-10, 11-4, 6-11, 13-15, 11-3, 11-9) in his second match. In the other match of that division Esther beat De Charmoy Lablache 4-2 (11-8, 11-9, 7-11, 11-7, 5-11, 11-9).

Christy Bristol was way ahead in the women’s division one as she beat all her opponents by 4-0 scores. She met closest rival Zahira Khattab in the decisive match and won 4-0 (11-5, 11-4, 11-4, 11-9). In her first match she beat Aurelie Toussaint 4-0 (11-4, 11-5, 11-8, 11-7) and she also won 4-0 (11-5, 11-4, 11-6, 11-5) over Angelique Volcy in the second match. Second placed Zahira Khattab beat Volcy 4-3 (8-11, 11-1, 9-11, 11-6, 11-7, 9-11, 11-5) and Toussaint 4-0 (11-5, 11-2, 11-4, 11-9) in her two previous matches. Angelique Volcy beat Aurelie Toussaint 4-3(11-9, 6-11, 11-9, 11-5, 8-11,11-6, 11-9) to clinch third place.

In the boys’ division two, Dyland Lafortune came from two sets down to beat Mael Youpa 3-2 (11-13, 8-11, 12-10, 11-8, 11-8) in the title decider. They both won against Dyland Simeon and Chris Esparon. Lafortune won 3-1 over Esparon and beat Simeon 3-0.

Second placed Youpa beat Simeon 3-2 in his first match and won 3-0 over Esparon in the second. Esparon edged Simeon 3-2 (11-9, 14-12, 7-11, 7-11, 11-9) to claim third place.

Eldon Barbé beat Gael Dugasse 3-2 (14-12, 11-13, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9) to win the boys’ division three category. This was in fact a decisive game between the two as they had both won their two previous encounters over Jake Searles and Roy Jackson.

Barbé beat Jackson 3-0 in first game and won 3-0 over Searles in the second. Dugasse beat Searles 3-0 in game one and beat Jackson 3-0 in the second. Jackson then beat Searles 3-2 (4-11, 11-4, 11-9, 6-11, 11-6) to take third position.

P. J.