Dookram, Partap-Boodhan reflect on brilliant 2016

The 27-year-old Dookram who is enjoying his first ever No1 ranking felt accomplished.

“One of my career goals was to be the number one ranked player in the country since winning my first national title in 2014. Being number one was the next goal on the list but I fell a bit short in 2015 so I`m glad that I was able to achieve it this year,” he said.

It was a serious test of consistency for the right hander in his long journey to the top of the ranking list.

“My performances for the year were relatively decent as I didn’t place anything less than third in any tournament for the year. Also, I was able to get wins against three foreign players being David Mahabir, Khaleel Asgarali and Trevor Farley who are all very tough opponents,” he continued.

Four-time top ranked women’s player, Linda Partap-Boodhan, is enjoying her second consecutive year at number one but this year she was made to battle to the end as she played the last four months of the year with an injury. She revealed: “It means a great deal to me especially struggling with the injury I picked up in Dominican Republic in September. To finish off the year successful was due to my mental motivation. It feels good and my two daughters were my biggest supporters.” An athlete goes through many challenging periods throughout their career and in most cases motivation is needed to be become successful.

Explaining where his motivation comes from, Dookram said, “I have good support from my family and friends which is always needed for people to keep moving forward in their respective sport.

Also, I am quite motivated when I see our local players improving and getting to the next level so I want to be there with them and not fall behind. However, sport needs changes and improvement to keep players motivated because if things stay the same players could end up leaving the game which has happened in the past with many top national players.” Whenever there is news of a 41-year-old player dominating the sporting arena while still seeking to improve daily, there has to be a special inspiration.

So when Linda was asked what is the secret for her continued success, she declared: “The love for the sport which I have been playing from a tender age and I would like to see the sport excel.

Additionally, it helps me to keep a healthy lifestyle. I owe a great deal of my motivation to my Arima Hawks clubmates.” She added: “Teaming up and playing with my daughter Rayanna this year was a spur of the moment decision but has proven to be the greatest joy.” Yuvraaj experienced table-tennis at different levels as he had a training stint in Sweden last year and during 2010-2013 he represented LindonWood University in Missouri, USA for four years where he graduated with a Bachelor in Computer Science.

He suggested some steps for improvements for table tennis in TT.

“There should be continuous national training for players vying for the team along with a dedicated coach. If it is too difficult to achieve funds to send players away, then bringing a coach and a couple top players to us seems like another option.” Linda believes more effort is needed at the school level as she expressed: “ I am coaching at schools and it is difficult to get these kids to attend tournaments so if we cannot motivate them then we are in trouble.”