Edghill, Britton, Moore shine as KFC Summer Showdown concludes
Guyana’s frontline table tennis players Chelsea Edghill and Shemar Britton claimed top honours in the Edge Sports Management (ESM) KFC Summer Showdown Table Tennis Tournament, which came to an exciting close at Olympic House, Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown on Sunday evening.
For the first time in the sport’s history, the senior competitors were vying for a $250,000 grand prize and the action that ensued did not disappoint, well worth the winners’ purse.
In the senior women’s final, Edghill downed Trinidad and Tobago’s Imani Edwards in four straight sets. The Guyanese took the first two sets 11-4, 11-5 but met strong resistance from Edwards in the third. However, the Guyanese held her cool and won the set 11-8, then moved on to complete the tournament win with an 11-6 fourth set.
Chelsea Edghill took top honours in the women’s category
Meanwhile, Britton also joined the winners’ club, defeating his fellow Guyanese Elishaba Johnson in an entertaining 4-1 encounter. Britton claimed a win in the first set 11-6, but Johnson rebounded in the second to win 11-8. However, from there on out, it was smooth sailing for Britton, who won three sets on the trot, 11-3, 11-5, 11-6 to take the overall victory.
The Under-19 male final was a roller-coaster of sorts, going the entire seven matches in order to arrive at a winner. When that time came, it was Malachi Moore who reigned supreme, defeating Colin Wong 4-3.
As if to set the tone of the game, Moore claimed the first set 12-10, but Wong took the second 15-13. Moore won the third set 12-10, while Wong would later triumph in the fourth 11-8. And it was in that tit- for-tat fashion that their nail-biter would continue. Moore won the fifth set 11-8 and Wong went the distance in the sixth, winning 15-13. However, Moore would prevail in the seventh and final set, 14-12 to take the top spot in the category.
Shemar Britton (second from right) won the men’s category after facing off with Elishaba Johnson (second from left)
Over in the distaff, Thuraia Thomas and Jasmine Billingy went the distance in a five-set game, which resulted in Billingy prevailing 3-2. The first two sets of the game went to Billingy, who won 11-4, 11-9. However, Thomas put up a fight in the two sets that followed, winning 11-8, 11-9. Billingy then claimed the last set and the Under-19 women’s title, 13-11.
Adding to his U-19 victory, Malachi Moore also breezed to the top in the boys’ Under 15 category. Moore defeated Travis Lyken in three straight sets 11-2, 11-1, 11-1.
In a generous gesture, Edghill later donated her winnings from the tournament to the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA).
KFC, ANSA McAL under its Lucozade brand, and Star Party Rentals were among the tournament’s sponsors with support from the National Sports Commission (NSC), GTTA, and Guyana Olympic Association (GOA).
