Farley brothers favoured

Unless Mark Dowell, Aaron Barker or Abbie Clarke can produce at least one top-class performance between them, the Farley brothers, Trevor and Kevin, appear to be heading for two showdowns oas the Barbados Table Tennis Association’s national championships move into the final stages.
Today is semi-final night at the Table Tennis Centre, an event that provides the opportunity for the top junior and senior players to tussle for places in the final of the National Championships next weekend.
The senior players are expected to join the action around 7 p.m after the juniors open the exchanges at 4 p.m., contesting titles in the Under-15, Under-18 and Under-21 categories.
As usual, it will be the men’s and women’s Islandwide along with the A Class that will capture most of the attention.  
Trevor Farley is favoured to take another step towards defending his A Class title but he will first have to get past a determined Mark Dowell.   
There is little doubt that Trevor, like his brother Kevin, a former Caribbean champion, is the clear favourite, but Dowell is playing with renewed determination this season as he seeks to earn the respect and recognition he believes has eluded him for most of his career.
Barker narrowly missed out on a semi-final berth in the Islandwide when he lost to Dowell by two points in the decider of a seven-game thriller last week.  
He would need to play at least three to four points higher to pose a threat to the left-handed Kevin Farley, who like Barker, is a superconfident competitor.
Dowell and Trevor Farley also seemed set to square off in the Islandwide semi as Dowell looks to secure the prestigious title for the second consecutive year.  
Dowell’s berth is already secure but Farley and Dale Rudder were scheduled to compete for the right to take on the champion.
In the other semi, Kevin Farley and Abbie Clarke are expected to set the centre alight with dazzling strokeplay.