AS has been the case for the majority of years in the last decade or so, Dexter St Louis and Rheann Chung will represent the Trinidad and Tobago Table Tennis Association (T&TTTA) in the First Citizens Sports Awards.
The France-based duo were voted 2013 Players of the Year during yesterday’s T&TTTA awards function at Central Regional Indoor Sports Arena, Chaguanas, and will attempt to be crowned Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year when the prestigious ceremony takes place at a date yet to be announced.
Arun Roopnarine and Jasher De Gannes will represent the sport in the First Citizens Junior Sports Awards.
Roopnarine finished tops in both the Under-18 and 21 categories and came within 120 points of dethroning Curtis Humphreys as the top senior locally-based player in the country.
Caribbean Under-13 champion De Gannes was fifth in the senior rankings and the Tobagonian, who picked up a bronze medal in her age-group in the Latin American Junior Championships, also finished No. 1 in the Under-13 and 15 divisions.
As usual, St Louis and his step-daughter Chung did not play in any local tournaments, but they were again major factors as Trinidad and Tobago placed second overall in the Caribbean Championships in St Lucia in August.
St Louis was crowned singles champ for the fifth time, but Chung failed to capture her sixth title when she was upset in the final after taking the first two games.
The two combined for their seventh mixed doubles crown and Chung secured another gold medal when she teamed with Aleena Edwards and Linda Partap-Boodhan for the team title.
The 27-year-old Chung and 12-year-old De Gannes picked up the silver medal in doubles, while St Louis picked up bronze alongside Humphreys, whose brother Alaric and Under-21 bronze medallist Roopnarine also notched a medal of this colour in doubles.
David Mahabir, who was crowned national champ at age 62 a few weeks before, ended with two silver medals as the Canada-based player lost in the over-50 final and combined with St Louis and Curtis Humphreys to place second in the team event.
Edwards, a bronze medallist in singles, dominated the local tournaments, winning the National Championships for the tenth time as well as the other three tournaments she competed in.
Humphreys finished No.1 for the second straight year, but Edwards replaced Brittany Joseph, who fell to No. 3.
However the youngster who was crowned national champ at the tender age of 14 last year finished as the top Under-21 player of the year.
Joseph was second as Nalini Boodoo topped the Under-18 category, while boys’ Under-18 runner-up Aaron Wilson retained the title as the leading Under-15 player and was third overall in the senior rankings.
Tobagonians Derron Douglas and Joshua Maxwell finished on top in the Under-11 and 13 age-groups, respectively, while Shreys Maharaj was the leading female Under-11 player of the season.
Boodoo and Joseph not only finished No.1 in the Under-18 and 21 categories, respectively, it was their very first year competing in the age groups and they also received prizes for highest debut.
The male equivalent honour went to Savresh Mungal, who finished No. 2 in his first year in the Under-21 division.
De Gannes, who climbed from No. 11 to the top spot in the Under-15 division, and Luc D’Young, up from No. 45 to No. 9 in the Under-13 category, received the prizes for most significant rise in the rankings.