11th Indian Ocean Island Games: Table Tennis |02 September 2023

Benstrong lost her match on a 3-4 score (Photo: Roland Duval)

Satisfactory results from our local paddlers

Despite having a lot to do in terms of techniques, compared to other countries in the region, the local paddlers put on a good show yesterday during the last day of the table tennis competition of the 11th Indian Ocean Islands Games held at the Zone Expo Forello Arena in Tanjombato.

Three Seychellois players, namely Mario De Charmoy Lablache, Angelique Volcy, and Anniessa Benstrong were in action.

First to play was De Charmoy Lablache who was up against Julien Gaudet of Reunion. The Seychellois paddler shocked everyone in the arena when he displayed a better game than his opponent to win the first set 11-9.

Much older and boasting more experience, Gaudet rectified his first set mistakes and stepped up his game to win the second set 11-8, and the third 15-13.

Still feeling that he could catch up with his opponent, De Charmoy Lablache kept pushing, but a lot of unnecessary mistakes cost him dearly as he lost the fourth and fifth sets 14-16 and 8-11 respectively and the match 4-1.

Volcy, on the other hand, was clearly not on the same level as her opponent Ivana Desscann of Mauritius.

More agile and technically superior, Desscann easily won the match 4-0 (11-5, 11-8, 11-5, 11-6).

Benstrong, the most experienced player on Team Seychelles was up against a much younger Marion Moufflet of Reunion.

After losing the first set 7-11, Benstrong, who was once a threat in the region and won the women’s singles gold medal twice, dug into her bag of tricks to outplay the young Moufflet 11-7 in the second set.

From then on, it was a matter of ‘give and take’ as Moufflet won the third set 11-5, before Benstrong leveled matters by winning the fourth and fifth sets by the same set score of 11-7.

Young Moufflet was not ready to give up as she kept fighting and won the sixth set 11-2, forcing a seventh and decider set.

With more energy in store, Moufflet dominated Benstrong, winning the set 11-5, and the match 4-3.

Roland Duval