Experience and youth win at KSATTA Open

Adenyi Akindele and Tsenaye Lewis played their way to the top titles at last Saturday’s Kingston and St Andrew Table Tennis Association (KSATTA) Open at Excelsior High School in Kingston.

Akindele used his experience to survive a long day of table tennis and the challenge in the men’s singles by former national player Phillip Drummond while Lewis fought her way past Brittany Murray to win the women’s crown.

The tournament started in the morning with round robin group play, and once he emerged from that stage, Akindele dispatched Darrel Gordon, a former Calabar High player who now is an officer in the Jamaica Defence Force, and youngster Rasheed Clarke to reach the final.

It was a surprise that the Nigerian met Drummond there. National champion Mark Phillips was the top seed but lost a deceptively close quarterfinal match 10-12, 12-14, 8-11 to Drummond. The 2007 National men’s singles finalist then eased past Portlander Samuel Lamount in straight sets in his semi-final.

Akindele, who won when KSATTA staged this event as a Men’s B tournament at this time last year at Excelsior, breezed through the first set of the final 11-3 but in the second, Drummond unleashed his tricky backhand serve.

“Drummond had to come with some topspin serves, which I couldn’t really read it at the time, so I had to slow it down and watch the ball before I attacked,” Akindele said. With Drummond finding the table with some sharp forehands, it became tight. Akindele took that set 11-8 and hustled back from 4-8 to win the third set 13-11.

“I give thanks to God. This is a big win for me. It goes a long way for me as well,” he said.

After several seasons away from the table, Drummond has eased back on to the radar via Business House competition and the recent National Championships. “To be honest, I never expected to see myself in the finals,” he said.

The results on Saturday have given him the incentive to train harder.

“It’s nice to be back. One of my disappointments is I did not get to put in the work that I really need to put in to improve, but little by little, I’m getting back to where I was, and I intend to surpass that,” he said.

Lewis came from behind in her semi-final and the final. She first outlasted Karissa Peterkin 8-11, 13-11, 11-4 and 11-7, and with the title on the line, the victorious Wolmer’s Girl student defeated tall Brittany Murray 5-11, 12-10, 11-5, 11-3.

Akindele hailed the improvement in quality that came with the tournament being upgraded from Men’s B status.

“This one is more competitive,” he said. “So we had some top players here even though there were surprises and they couldn’t make it to the semis and the finals, but it is what it is. I give thanks. I just keep fighting,” concluded the compact Nigerian.