Tomlinson aiming at third National TT title
THE 2017 National Table Tennis Championships will now be contested on December 16 and 17 and reigning national champion Simon Tomlinson has set his sights on winning a third men’s singles title.
Tomlinson has just won a tournament in the United States and is driving ahead to next year’s Commonwealth Games. Speaking in Kingston last week, Tomlinson described his US win as a good start to his preparations for the Games.
He expects a fight for the national title from his friend and training partner Kane Watson.
“I have a month to prepare,” he explained at the CAC Games hockey qualifying tournament at the Mona Hockey Stadium. “Hopefully, me and my big brother Kane will fight it out again in the final, and hopefully, I’ll get number three.”
Tomlinson clipped Watson to win last year.
GOOD START TO CAMPAIGN
He gained some momentum by winning the under 2400 singles at the Robopong November Broward Table Tennis Club Open. In the final, he outplayed Nigerian Cedric Oba 3 sets to 1.
“The player I beat is one of Nigeria’s top players, so being able to compete against him before the Commonwealth Games – where I could play him again – and winning, is a good start to the campaign,” he added.
Tomlinson paired with young Azizi Johnson to win a second title in the tournament and praised the youngster who played for Jamaica is the Caribbean Region Mini and Pre-Cadet Championships in Kingston.
“We won the under-3600 team event which I believe is his first international title and his first senior title as an under 13 player,” he related, “so I’m very happy for him.”