By Treiston Joseph
Nigel Bryan is getting back to his old self, after a performance that reminded table tennis pundits just how good he is at the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA)/LFS Burnham Mashramani Table Tennis tournament that concluded on Sunday at the National Gymnasium.
Bryan started with a handicap of -4, but was able to get past the two-day tournament and claim victory on Sunday with a 3-1 win against Nickolas Romain, who had a handicap of -2.
However, Bryan, during the tournament and against Romain, showcased a side of his game that has never really been seen before and that is patience and finesse. Known more for his power and speed, Bryan even showed better use of his back hand as the sets went 11-8, 10-12, 11-6 and 11-5.
Bryan spoke with News Room Sport on the win and the improvement in his game. “I really just had to remain focus because I started with a handicap of negative four, which meant had to gain five points before I got one, so I took every point seriously.
“I just remained focused and tried to be more consistent which is what I am trying to do more of instead of relying on power and speed but I’m happy to come out with the win,” Bryan noted. Meanwhile, Romain returned in the ‘B’ Class final to top Kevin Corbin in a comfortable 3-0 win.
Romain, who struggled against Bryan in the earlier Handicap final, looked comfortable against Corbin and his display of skill was evident. Romain showcased his versatility in the match with power, accuracy and speed to end the match in successive sets that went 11-5, 11-6 and 11-7.
In the ‘C’ Class final, Dhanesh Persaud topped Karl Nedol 3-1 for the win. Persaud showed great poise in the match despite going down early in the match by losing the first set to Nedol at 4-11.
However, Persaud came back with a an 11-9 set before both players showed great grit by fight for the final points with Persaud having to score two straight points to win the final two sets at 13-11 and 14-12.
President of the GTTA, Godfrey Munroe, noted that he was happy with how the tournament progressed, sharing that it gave a lot of the younger players a chance to really test their skill against a few of the seniors which will only improve their game. All the players received their trophies and prizes after the tournament.
