GROS ISLET, St. Lucia (CMC) – Trinidad and Tobago’s Dexter St Louis ran away with the men’s singles crown at the 55th Caribbean Regional Table Tennis Federation Championship in St Lucia over the weekend.

The France-based St Louis smashed his way to a fifth title by crushing Dominican Republic’s Emil Santos in straight sets at the Beausejour Indoor Sports Arena.
St Louis, who lost in the final last year, made amends with an emphatic 11-8, 11-8, 11-6, 11-6 to add to his previous triumphs in 1998, 2004, 2006 and 2009.
Earlier on in his semifinal, he defeated another Dominican Republic player, Juan Vila also in straight sets 11-7, 11-5, 14-12, 11-7.
St Louis started off the main draw knockout by defeating two-time Caribbean Champion, Barbadian Trevor Farley 11-8, 15-13, 11-2 in his last-16 match before returning to brush aside Dominican Republic’s Samuel Galvez 11-3, 11-2, 14-12, 11-2 in their quarterfinal.
Meantime St Louis’ step-daughter Rheann Chung suffered a heart-breaking defeat at the hands of Dominican Republic’s Eva Britto in the final of the women’s singles.
Chung lost the six-set encounter to Britto who deprived her of a fifth women’s single crown after she won in 2004, 2008, 2009, and last year.
Chung started off ambitiously by taking the first two sets, 11-6, 11-7. However, Britto stormed back to win the next four sets at 9, 4, 5 and 7 to deny Chung.
Earlier on, Chung, who won the women’s team title and mixed doubles gold with St Louis as well as women’s doubles silver with 11-year-old Jasher De Gannes humbled another Dominican Republic player Lineth Vila in her semifinal 11-6, 13-11, 11-8, 11-8.