Nigerian wins again at JTTPA Invitational

When Nigerian Adeniyi Akindele ran through the Kingston and St Andrew Table Tennis Association’s Men’s B tournament in October without dropping a set, he appeared to be comfortable. Akindele confirmed this impression by winning the Jamaica Table Tennis Players Association (JTTPA) Top 10 Invitational, at the Pembroke Hall Community Centre on Sunday, on November 20.

Playing at a tournament that attracted LASCO Financial Services and its new Gold Debit Card as a sponsor, Akindele gave up just two sets in five matches to win. He was stretched to four sets by lefthanded Pembroke Hall Club member Rudolph Sinclair, 11-5, 5-11, 11-5, and 15-13, and by Rodger McKenzie, 11-9, 9-11, 11-4 and 11-3.

Though he was undefeated, he considers Sinclair and McKenzie formidable, both 3-1.

“They are good players, trust me, you know. Rudolph played a very good game. I won the first game, and he came out and won the second game. It was a bit tough, but I had to work on my forehand, my movement,” the Nigerian recounted, “because left-handed players, he was trying to play me away from the table, trying to take me away from the table, but I had to just work on my footwork to move and recover quickly ,but by the end of it, it was okay, thanks to God, but it was a tough match still.”

Beyond that, the right-handed looper breezed through his encounters with Marlon Alberts, Brian Blake, and Sean Nesbeth in straight sets.

Sinclair, the 2018 Caribbean Championship veteran’s bronze medallist, was second after he outlasted McKenzie, 11-7, 9-11, 11-7, 9-11 and 11-4.

The tournament, the brainchild of the JTTPA, founded by McKenzie, brought tournament table tennis back to a venue that was once a hotbed of the sport. During the club’s heyday, it was home to seven-time national women’s champion Yvonne Foster.

INDEPENDENT GROUP

According to McKenzie, “’the JTTPA is at the stage of registering officially” and “will remain as an independent group to serve players:, and “as such, will not join as an affiliate to the Jamaica Table Tennis Association (JTTA) and will not vote in JTTA elections”.

Danielle Drysdale, LASCO Financial’s marketing manager, outlined the thinking behind the company’s involvement, saying, “Coming out of the pandemic, a lot of our students would have been disengaged, and so this is just our way of getting them back in the fold, getting them back into a routine that can help guide and develop them as they go through the school process.”

LASCO, she said, wants to boost table tennis.

“It’s not talked about enough. It’s also giving them support so that they can have the platform to talk about the sport, get persons interested, get students across other schools interested and really just shine some light on the sport,” Drysdale underlined.