Suhkai elated with “fulfilling” independence title

Stepping onto the senior stage can sometimes be daunting for youth athletes, but Samara Sukhai rose to the occasion over the weekend to pull off a Women’s Singles win in the Guyana Table Tennis Association’s (GTTA) 60th Independence Jubilee tournament.
Sukhai began her campaign with a win against Angel Robinson in the semi-finals, while her eventual final opponent, Nevaeh Clarkston, overcame Fabianna John in the semis.
In the final, Sukhai was cruising with two wins when Clarkston levelled the scores 2-2, leaving the game up to the final set.

While Sukhai went on to prevail, she later told Guyana Times Sport that a bit of revenge went into her motivation.
Sukhai shared, “First of all, I feel really proud of myself; I feel happy. My opponent played an incredible game but the last tournament and the same category, I lost to her. So, this tournament, I really wanted to defeat her and, you know, win this title because it’s important to me.”
She continued, “I try to win every title that I play, and basically coming up to the tournament was just intense practice sessions and learning from my mistakes, and learning to better myself so that I can play better.”
Quizzed about those tense moments in the final, Sukhai explained how she was able to cross that hurdle.
“I would say, definitely, I wasn’t supposed to let her come back because I was ahead, and she did come back fighting. So, I had to remind myself to stay calm, and my coach was reminding me to follow the tactics that I followed earlier on. So, I just had to stay calm and believe in myself to the end,” she related to this publication.
The young athlete went on to describe her triumph as fulfilling.
Sukhai expressed, “I feel really proud of myself because I’ve been playing for so long, so to win this title feels really fulfilling, and I hope too, as the tournaments come, to keep my titles and go on.”