Humphreys silences doubters with Super Singles title

There were many inquiries about his recent playing form as he is the most experienced player of the current crop of national table tennis players.

Humphreys can have some breathing space against the doubters as he copped the men’s singles title at the Super Singles Tournament last week.

It seems as though he had a point to prove as he expressed, “I want to say a special thank you to the media for the increased coverage in table tennis especially to the recent articles that motivated me to win this title.” Success comes with sacrifices and Humphreys explained his situation.

“Two years ago I decided that I need to give back to the sport that has been giving me so much. One of the areas I now devote my time is to coaching and administration of WASA Table Tennis Club (WTT C).

The effort of the WTT C in doing initiatives is solely to benefit us as players at the club and by extension the table tennis fraternity.” Due to poor performances, the 32-year-old Humphreys dropped in the men`s rankings, losing out on the number one spot which he held invincibly for six years. He is not bothered by his demotion in the ranking.

“Firstly let me congratulate Trinidad and Tobago new number one ranked player Yuvraaj Dookram because he truly deserves it and one of my goals as a coach is to help players like Yuvraaj become the best so I am truly happy for him.” The former Sweden- based player was also excluded from the national team that went to the Caribbean Championships held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in September, despite being, at the time, the top ranked player and a virtual certainty for selection.

“This year I was excluded from representing TT for the first time in over a decade for making a stance against the policy used for player selection.

As a result, a formal letter was written to them asking for answers on their selection policy. I understand that everything is a process and this is an indication of why I have sacrificed my energies and personal practice time because the goal is to see table tennis move forward in TT .” The forthcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be crucial to the development of table tennis in TT as agreed by Humphreys. “In moving forward a team of visionaries, selfless, honest and critical thinkers must form our new association with the focus on the holistic development of players in TT ,” he said.