JONATHAN Van Lange and Thuraia Thomas blazed their way to the U-15 and U-18 male and female titles, respectively, at the Guyana Table Tennis Association’s (GTTA) Junior and Cadet Championships which was held at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) over the past weekend.

Another notable feature of the championships was the utter dominance of the Titans Table Tennis Club (TTTC) players who secured at least two out of the three top spots in every category.

Van Lange’s rigid preparation and training routine saw him dismantling Kaysan Ninvalle in two finals to grab the boys Under 15 and 18 titles. Meanwhile, on the distaff side, Thomas oozed class to secure top honours in both the girls U-15 and U-18 categories respectively.
Van Lange, who is just 12-years-old, showed great composure and improved fitness at critical junctures in the battles against Ninvalle.

In the U-18 final, Ninvalle struck the first blow, winning the first set 11-8 before Van Lange equalised in the second with an 11-7 win.
In the third set, Van Lange surged ahead with a 2-1 lead, taking the third set 11-5. He then sealed the deal with an enthralling 11-6 fourth set victory to take the title at 4-1.
Earlier in the U-18 semi-finals, Van Lange dispatched club mate Kristian Sahadeo 11-9, 12-10, 11-9 with Ninvalle sealing his final berth by beating Niran Bissu 11-2, 9-11, 11-4 and 11-6.

Meanwhile, in the U-15 final which preceded the U-18 final, Van Lange negated last year’s champion, Ninvalle’s best efforts to take the title in sets of 11-7, 7-11, 11-7, 8-11 and 11-8.
Van Lange stormed to the final by defeating another club mate in Isaiah Layne with an 11-8, 11-5, 8-11 and 11-4 win. Ninvalle managed to get past Sahadeo 11-7, 5-11, 8-11, 11-5, and 11-5 in their semi-final encounter.

On the distaff side of things, Thomas played with passion and a hunger for success as she dethroned last year’s U-18 champion, Nevaeh Clarkson, in the same category final, in three straight sets of identical 11-8 scores.
En route to the final, Thomas saw off youngster Jasmine Billingy 3-0, while Clarkson beat Aneka Phillips 3-2.

Earlier in the day, Thomas secured the U-15 title by defeating her club and training mate, Crystal Melville, who was making her first National appearance.
It was a thrilling encounter as Thomas had her work cut out; she nevertheless won in sets of 11-9, 8-11, 11-5, 7-11 and 11-5 to claim top honours. Thomas had secured her final berth by beating Billingy 11-5, 11-5, 5-11 and 11-7, while Melville got to the final with an 11-5, 11-3 and 11-8 win over Christine Ramdial.

Meanwhile, Dwain Dick, who is Thomas and Van Lange’s coach at the Titans TTC, told Chronicle Sport “It feels great to see the results of hard work, which includes most Sundays, come to fruition in the form of national titles. Both of these players have been performing consistently throughout 2018”.

He revealed; “Even more impressive was Van Lange who showed his consistency by winning the U-21 and finishing second in the B class at the just concluded Forbes Burnham Memorial”.

“There is still a long way to go in terms of their development, but we now turn our efforts toward preparation for Caribbean championships for U-15 and U-18 categories, of which they are both on the team. Hopefully, we can win some teams and singles medals.”