Van Lange, Wong, Moore and Billingy among Independence Table Tennis champs

Action in the annual Independence Table Tennis tournament concluded on Sunday at the National Gymnasium with the likes of Colin Wong, Malachi Moore, Jasmine Billingy and Jonathan Van Lange winning in their respective categories.

The tournament was sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport and the National Sports Commission and coordinated by the Guyana Table Tennis Association.

Heading into the final day, all players were aiming to bring their best versions of the game to the tournament. They had their game faces on, and only the best-of-the-best would emerge victorious.

In fact, the most anticipated match-ups saw the Men’s Singles in battle, with names such as Jonathan Van Lange, Elishaba Johnson, Joel Alleyne, Miguel Wong, Orin Hickerson, Niran Bissu, Levi Percival and Coli Wong participating.

This category was an absolute thriller. In the semi-final matches, Van Lange defeated Elishaba Johnson 11-8, 7-11, 9-11, 11-5, 14-12 (4-2) in a back-and-forth affair, with both players using every serve in the book to their advantage.

Joel Alleyne, on the other hand, defeated Niran Bissu and managed to win four games to zero and book his spot to the final.

In the final, Van Lange emerged champion with a 4-1 victory (11-3, 4-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-9) in a hard-fought final with Alleyne.

Malachi Moore defeated Ebo McNeil 9-11, 12-10, 13-11, 11-6 in the Boys Under-13 category, while the Under-15 Girls tournament saw Jasmine Billingy defeating Akira Watson in straight sets 11-8, 11-8, 11-9.

In the Under-15 Boys category, Colin Wong defeated Ebo McNeil in three straight sets, while Van Lange defeated Niran Bissu 3-0 (11-2, 11-5, 11-7) in the Boys Under-19 division and Jasmine Billingy topped Akira Watson 11-4, 11-3, 11-7 in the Girls U-19 final.

In the ‘B’ Class Open, Van Lange emerged champion, beating Colin Wong 8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8.