Former national male singles champion Christopher Marsh (right) and national female singles player Shenique Clare emerged the toast of Saturday's 2009 St James Table Tennis Classic, at the Montego Bay Cricket Club, in St James when they walked away with the Open male and female singles titles. - photo by Adrian Frater

Western Bureau:

Former national male singles champion Christopher Marsh and national female singles player Shenique Clare emerged the toast of Saturday's 2009 St James Table Tennis Classic at Montego Bay Cricket Club in St James when they walked away with the Open male and singles titles.

Marsh, who was making a return to the spotlight after a prolonged layoff from the game, turned in a composed performance to upstage Rudolph Sinclair 10-12, 11-9, 3-11, 11-9 and 11-9 in what was an epic final.

On the way to the final, Marsh also had a good win against Hector Bennett, who is also a former national champion.

"The last time I played in St James was 2006 and I won, so I was determined to make a winning return," said Marsh. "I felt very good out there today and I knew I had it in me to win."

For Clare, her passage to the female title was somewhat smoother, if not easier, as she won all three sets in putting away the challenge of Petrina Bogle 11-8, 11-7, 11-9 for the female crown.

Okay performance

"I thought I gave a pretty okay performance because the mistakes were few and far between," said Clare. "I really enjoyed myself today and I am happy that I was able to play this well in such an important tournament."

The competition, which was a joint effort between the Jamaica Table Tennis Association (JTTA) and the St James Table Tennis Association, featured action in 10 categories, ranging from juniors to veterans.

In the category open to St James players exclusively, many-time male champion Donovan James, making his first appearance in the tournament since he won in 2006, dethroned Bruce Cormack, who won over the last two years 13-11, 11-4, 6-11 and 11-3.

"It was all about hard work, practice and determination for me," said James, who is hoping to make a return to the national team. "You could say I was sounding a warning to all the guys out there that I am ready for the national trials."

In the section for St James females, Renece Smith turned in a pretty good performance to upstage veteran Myrtle Wedderburn for the title. Smith won 13-15, 11-5, 11-4 and 11-8 after Wedderburn lost her composure after a bright start.

Other titles

In the junior section, Jowell Powell won the boys' Under-12 title, beating Shavane James 12-10, 11-6, 15-17, 13-11; Amoy Allen ran away with the female Under-15 title with a 6-11, 6-11, 12-10, 12-10, 11-8 win against Nicholine Tapping; Roberta Jackson won the girls' Under-18 title, beating Shanique Malcolm 7-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-9; and Lamar Cunningham strolled by Alexander Salmon 11-6, 11-8, 11-6 for the boys' Under-18 crown.

"It was an excellent tournament and I must say I was most impressed, especially with the large number of young players who turned up here today," said JTTA president Keith Garvey. "What I saw today is telling me the future of the sport is very bright."