Saint Lucia’s six-member table tennis team have qualified for the Central American and Caribbean Games in both the men’s and women’s categories. The Games will take place in the Dominican Republic from July 24 to August 8.
From Monday to Wednesday in Santo Domingo, Manie Eleuthere, Leshon Francis, DeAndre Calderon, Cherese Dearcheville, Shatal Charles and Zariana Anthony all finished in the top eight of their groups.
Saint Lucia was the only English-speaking country to have both men’s and women’s teams advance from the qualifiers.
Coach Chris Wells told St Lucia Times that the men’s team showed great resilience, resulting in some memorable moments for Team Saint Lucia. “Our biggest standout moment was when Saint Lucia competed against Jamaica,” Wells said.
“Manie and Leshon gave it their all in the doubles match and won in an almost evenly matched contest. DeAndre then played against Jamaica’s best player, and although we were confident in DeAndre’s ability, the match quickly became very competitive as the Jamaican won the second set, making it 1-1. DeAndre then dug deep as the Jamaican support and teammates got loud, making legal comments that can be distracting. He pulled through and won.
“Leshon Francis then lost 3-1 to Blake with the Jamaican support. Manie Eleuthere then faced Azizi, the same opponent who gave De Andre a hard time. He went into the match determined to fight, and so he won the first game. However, the momentum quickly shifted in favour of the Jamaican, who won the next two games.
“Manie then fought through to even the match at 2-2. The deciding game was loud with support from both teams’ benches. Azizi led Manie 7-4, and it seemed that the pressure had gotten the better of him. However, after a timeout, he refocused and won the next two points, forcing the Jamaicans to call another timeout. Manie remained focused, denying Azizi any more points, and won 11-7.”
DeAndre Calderon went unbeaten in the team event, winning all three of his matches. Saint Lucia lost 3-2 to El Salvador in their first group match, but then beat Jamaica 3-1. The men’s team competition had four groups, and the top two teams from each group qualified to return in July.
The women, who made history by qualifying for the CAC Games for the first time, had to go through a playoff after failing to place in the top two in their group. Saint Lucia again defeated Jamaica to go through, after losing to Colombia 3-0, Trinidad & Tobago 3-0, and Guyana 3-2.
Both teams will stay in the Dominican Republic to compete in the Senior and Junior Caribbean Table Tennis Championships over the next two weeks.
(TF)
