Tough going for Barbadians at regional table tennis championships

Coach Nicole Alleyne believes a bit of nervousness has affected the two Barbadian teams competing at the Caribbean Regional Youth Table Tennis Championships.

Head coach Nicole Alleyne. (PHOTO CREDIT: Barbados Table Tennis Association)

Speaking to Barbados TODAY from the Dominican Republic, she revealed that the Under-15 team placed fifth and the Under-19 squad sixth overall.

“When they played you could see some nerves in them, but throughout the tournament it got a little better as they went along. 

“Our overall expectations before the event were a bit higher than the eventual performance because as I said before, the boys were playing with a bit of nerves and the arena is way different from the arena we play in at home too, so it would call for some more time to get acclimatised,” Alleyne said.

She said even though the teams fell short of the initial goals, she was still satisfied with their performances.

“Expectations were for the Under 19s to place in the top three and honestly for the Under-15s, although they had two newcomers in the group, we were hoping for third or fourth,” Alleyne said.

Singles action serves off at the championships today.

The Under-15 squad: Maleeq Aimey, Nyal Bushell, Noran Chan and William Allen.

The Under-19 squad: Mikail Mark, Queshawn Smith, Mdjai Collymore and Jashon Smith.

(KH)