MARLON Mitchell, Calvin Roberts and Keiton Nelson were all crowned winners of the Beginners, Over-40 and Elite category respectively last Thursday night when the Guyana National Newspapers Limited Sports Club hosted a Post-Mashramani table tennis tournament for their staff.

The Trophy Stall, Mark Interior Communications and Regal Stationery and Computer Supplies-sponsored tournament saw over 19 participants compete in intense and exciting action which served off at 17:00hrs, for supremacy in all three categories.
Mitchell, who was forced to dig deep in his reserves by a red-hot Rawle Toney, came out successful in the two best-of-three encounters, while Roberts was pushed to the hilt by the defending Over-40 champion Garfield Niles before he triumphed in similar fashion to Mitchell.
Many felt that Keiton Nelson would have been an easy walkover for former champion Orlando Milner, especially after the latter rallied his way to take the first game, but the former proved he is championship material and rallied back to take the final two games and the Elite category in grand style.
The action got under way with Mitchell taking on Gary Eleazar whom he defeated in straight sets 11-9, 11-5, before Kizan Brumell disposed of Christopher Hardyal 11-5, 10-12, 11-6 while Toney defeated Seon Thompson 11-3, 8-11, 11-3.
Mitchell gained a bye to the final of the Beginners category, leaving Toney to battle Brumell in the semifinals for the other place and certainly, both competitors did not disappoint the small but appreciative group of spectators.
Toney dug deep to rally back from 1-6 in the first game to take it 11-7, before Brumell took the second game 12-10 forcing a third game which got under way with Brumell racing to a 4-0 lead, before Toney gathered his wits and rallied back to win the game and the contest 11-7.
It seemed as though Toney enjoyed fighting from behind, as he allowed Mitchell to race to a 4-0 lead in the first game of the final before he took the next three points then watched as Mitchell took the other four to race to an 8-3 lead.
Known more for his prowess on the basketball court, Toney staved off several game points before conceding the first game 9-11 and as was the scenario in that contest, allowed Mitchell to take another 4-0 lead in the second game.
That was to be the last hurrah for Mitchell, as Toney reeled off the next 8 points to take a 8-4 lead and subsequently the set with the scoreline reading 11-6 in his favour heading into the third and decisive set, from which the winner of that category would be decided.
A winded-looking Toney offered no resistance to Mitchell, who took the set and title with an 11-4 win, leaving Toney to settle for the runner-up spoils, while Brumell took third place.
After disposing of O’Neil Rodney in straight games 11-7, 11-2, Roberts watched as James Johnson defeated James Leitch 7-11, 13-11, 12-10, before Niles disposed of Johnson 11-4, 11-7 to set up a clash with Roberts in the final.
The eventual champion, who won the Elite category the last time around and was not allowed to compete in that regard, took the first game 11-4 before Niles refused to let go of his title easily, displaying his championship worth in the second game which he won 15-13.
Niles raced to a 6-3 lead in the deciding game, but the factor of youth and experience prevailing over experience alone enabled Roberts to rally back and take the final game and the title with an 11-7 win, while Johnson placed third.
Competition in the Elite category started with Keiton Nelson getting the better of Sonell Nelson 11-3, 11-5, followed by Milner’s double win over Sharukh Imran 11-3, 11-6 and Calvin Marks who gained a walkover following the no-show of Duane Prince, 11-9, 11-5, to set up the showdown with Keiton Nelson in the final.
After seeing Mitchell defeat Toney and Roberts dispose of Niles, Milner and Nelson took centre stage to do battle for the Elite title, with the former racing to a 7-2 lead over the latter in the first game, before winning same 17-15.
Using power-serves and loops to his advantage, Keiton Nelson took the final two games 11-8, 11-8, leaving a winded Milner to settle for the runner-up spot.
Trophies which were donated with the kind compliments of Trophy Stall and cash prizes were handed over to the top two finishers of each category, while the third-place finishers received a medallion and cash prizes and the organisers wish to express heartfelt thanks to the sponsors who made the event a successful one.