Eleuthere Stuns with Upset Before National Table Tennis Finals

Fifteen-year-old rising star Manie Eleuthere was defeated in the National Day Under-19 Men’s Singles Table Tennis Tournament on Wednesday, but not before creating a massive upset in the semifinals.  Eleuthere, a student at Ciceron Secondary, lost to Joshua Lubin 4-3 (11-6, 9-11, 11-6, 11-5, 7-11, 10-12, 11-9) in a thrilling final at the National Table Tennis Centre in Vide Boutielle. However, his journey to the final included a major upset over perennial domestic champion DeAndre Calderon in the semifinals. The 2022 Under-13 Caribbean Singles and Teams Table Tennis Champion defeated the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) champion 4-3 (7-11, 11-9, 13-11, 11-3, 10-12, 11-3, 12-10) in their semifinal match. Lubin, the eventual champion, secured his spot in the final after an intense battle with Dawitt Nurse that went down to the wire. Despite Eleuthere not winning the final match, national table tennis coach Chris Wells said his accomplishment was phenomenal. “He pulled a big upset defeating DeAndre – and that’s the first local defeat DeAndre suffered since 2018. So that is very good for Manie’s confidence and for the national junior team next year, which will be without DeAndre,” Wells said. “That’s a good boost in confidence for the...