Lyn unleashes on the TT board

Excelsior High School's under-16 table tennis player and junior chess star, Christopher Anthony Lyn Jr, is a reserved, easy-going person by nature. His calm and serene personality has been developed through his deep involvement in chess, and he is currently the fourth ranked junior chess player nationally.

However, whenever the talented 15-year-old plays on a table tennis board, a beast in him is unleashed.

Lyn says that he is a person who usually keeps things inside, however, when he plays table tennis, he just can't hold back. This was evident when he played and defeated Christoff Ferguson of St Mary's College 3-1 in the school's opening group ISSA table tennis high school competition at Excelsior High on Tuesday.

"I am a chess player, so normally I keep everything inside. But when I play table tennis, I come out (become aggressive) like that. I talk to myself and I express myself a lot," he told The Gleaner.

Despite his dominance over Ferguson, Lee admitted that he was a bit nervous and nearly gave the game away. However, he intends to apply more of the strategies he has learnt in chess to his table tennis matches.

"It wasn't my best (game) because I almost beat myself. I need to sharpen up some edges before I go into the next game. I was a bit nervous and that's why I almost lapsed, but thank God I recouped and came back. In chess you have to strategise, so this year I am going to do that more than last year," he said.

Looking forward to successful season

Excelsior failed to advance from the group stages last year, but Lyn noted that they were a very young team, and said that he is looking to play his part in a successful season.

"The only challenge (in the group) now is JC (Jamaica College), so leading up to that game we need to work on some things. I hope Excelsior can come out of the round (this year) in first or second, and I hope to do my best and contribute the points that my team needs," he commented.

St Mary's College won the match 3-2. Excelsior's other win came from Samuel Robinson, who defeated Jermain Walker 3-0. For St Mary's College Leno Hinds beat Nicholas Robinson 3-0, Romeo Davis defeated Matthew Small 3-0 and Conrad Pushnie stopped Jonathan Goodlitt 3-2 in a five-setter.

livingston.scott@gleanerjm.com

Today's Games:

Group 2

St Jago vs Calabar (U16) @ 2:30 p.m.

Group 2

Mona vs Campion (U19/U16) @ 2:30 p.m.

Group 3

Wolmer's vs Jonathan Grant (U16) @ 2:30 p.m.

Excelsior vs JC (U19/U16) @ 2:30 p.m.