Barbados completed a modest display at the 54th Caribbean Regional Table Tennis Federation (CRTTF) Championships in Santo Domino, Dominican Republic, Sunday with just two medals from the 13-event tournament.
The men’s team of Mark Dowell, Trevor Farley, Aaron Barker and Rashad King secured a silver medal after losing the championship match to Trinidad and Tobago early in the tournament.
But the weekend proved to be a frustrating one for the Bajans with the only other medal, a bronze, coming through Marguerita Felix in the women’s masters.
Barbados was represented in ten of the 13 events.
The most impactful performance from Barbados came in the mixed doubles when Barker and left hander Sherrice Felix reached the quarter-finals.
In the men’s singles, Barker, Dowell and Farley all topped their groups in the round robin exchanges to qualify for the main draw. Farley then overcame Omarie Ferdinand, of St Lucia, while Dowell beat Rocky Ras, of Aruba, to advance to the round of 16.
Barker was eliminated in the first round of the knockout by Manuel Ortiz Gomez, of Puerto Rico.
Dowell’s bid to advance to the quarter-finals was foiled by Stephane Figaro, of French Guiana, who beat him 3-0. Farley suffered a similar fate going under to hometown boy Isaac Vila. Hector Morales Berrios, of Puerto Rico, who was beaten 3-0 by Dowell in the team competition, was the eventual winner of the men’s singles, toppling Trinidadian Dexter St Louis in the final 15-17, 5-11, 13-11, 3-11, 12-10, 12-10, 13-11.
Felix and Anthonette Riley were the only Barbadians to qualify for the main draw in the women’s singles but both missed out on the quarter-finals.
Felix went under to Lizette Laboy Maldonado, of Puerto Rico, 3-0, while Riley was beaten by Johenny Valdez, of the Dominican Republic, by the identical scoreline. That event was won by Rheann Chung, of Trinidad and Tobago, who beat Eva Brito, of the Dominican Republic, 13-15, 11-3, 11-7, 11-4, 11-9 in the final.
Steven Payne did not advance from the first stage of the boys’ Under-21 division. King’s second place finish in his group was enough to make it to the main draw but he lost to David Villa, of the Dominican Republic, in the first round of the knockout.
Riley also did not advance from the round robin stage of the girls’ Under 21. The Barbadian pairs – Krystle Harvey and Ann Reid; Felix and Riley – did not get past the first round of the women’s doubles.
In the men’s doubles, Barker and King bowed out in the first round, while Farley and Dowell succumbed in the second after receiving a first round bye.
The Dominican Republic thoroughly enjoyed the home advantage, dominating the medal count with ten gold medals, six silver and eleven bronze..
