Baron wins junior table tennis title

ALLISTER Baron of the Reho Table Tennis Club won the boys’ section of the Windhoek Junior Table Tennis Championships which took place at the JTL Beukes Primary School at Rehoboth on Saturday.

In an exciting final, Baron beat his teammate from Reho Table Tennis Club, Hughan Cloete, by three sets to two. At times it seemed as if Cloete would get the upper hand, but Baron remained calm under pressure to win the title.Baron and Cloete then joined forces to beat Michael Stevens and Shaheed January of Dr Lemmer High School 3-2 in the junior doubles final.Elroy van Wyk and Clive van Wyk of JTL Beukes Primary School won the bronze medal.David Fredericks of Rehoboth High School beat Warren Rittmann of Reho Table Tennis Club to win the Boys’ Plate division.In the girls’ category, Carla Ross of M&K Gertze High School caused the upset of the tournament when she beat the second seed, Carmen Britz of Dr Lemmer High School, to progress to the final.Wilna Konjore of Mariental High School however easily won the final, beating Ross 3-0.Carmen Britz and Stephanie de Klerk each won a bronze medal in this category.In the girls’ doubles final, Konjore and Britz proved to be too strong for Ross and Rosanne Lukas of M&K Gertze High School.The Girls’ Plate division was won by Cecilia de Klerk of M&K Gertze High School who beat Antoinette van Wyk of JTL Beukes Primary School in the final.The president of the Namibia Table Tennis Tournament, Sigi Gobel, expressed satisfaction with the progress in junior table tennis.She did, however, say that she was concerned about the fact that some of the best junior players would be leaving school at the end of the year.”I sincerely hope that they will continue playing, even after they have finished their schooling, and that they will shortly join the senior ranks,” she said.At times it seemed as if Cloete would get the upper hand, but Baron remained calm under pressure to win the title.Baron and Cloete then joined forces to beat Michael Stevens and Shaheed January of Dr Lemmer High School 3-2 in the junior doubles final.Elroy van Wyk and Clive van Wyk of JTL Beukes Primary School won the bronze medal.David Fredericks of Rehoboth High School beat Warren Rittmann of Reho Table Tennis Club to win the Boys’ Plate division.In the girls’ category, Carla Ross of M&K Gertze High School caused the upset of the tournament when she beat the second seed, Carmen Britz of Dr Lemmer High School, to progress to the final.Wilna Konjore of Mariental High School however easily won the final, beating Ross 3-0.Carmen Britz and Stephanie de Klerk each won a bronze medal in this category.In the girls’ doubles final, Konjore and Britz proved to be too strong for Ross and Rosanne Lukas of M&K Gertze High School.The Girls’ Plate division was won by Cecilia de Klerk of M&K Gertze High School who beat Antoinette van Wyk of JTL Beukes Primary School in the final.The president of the Namibia Table Tennis Tournament, Sigi Gobel, expressed satisfaction with the progress in junior table tennis.She did, however, say that she was concerned about the fact that some of the best junior players would be leaving school at the end of the year.”I sincerely hope that they will continue playing, even after they have finished their schooling, and that they will shortly join the senior ranks,” she said.