Service with a smile… Five-time national TT champion Mike Baptiste is a ‘Special Person’

Aug 09, 2009 News

---

“Not only will sports help to keep you fit but it will also help you to be more disciplined, allowing you to function better as a responsible individual.”

By Sharmain Cornette

Based on the few years that I have known Michael Anthony ‘Mike’ Baptiste I can safely deduce that he has a warm personality and is caring enough to ensure that the people around him never go hungry, literally. Indeed he is an excellent chef.
However, it is his distinct and remarkable involvement in the game of table tennis that has caused him to be appointed this week’s Special Person.
Mike’s auspicious tenure in this sporting arena has allowed him to gain much recognition here in Guyana and the region, particularly during the golden years of local table tennis, the mid 60s through the mid 70s.
But it was several long years ago that Mike Baptiste, as he was and still is popularly called, showcased his impressive skills with brisk gyrations which saw him being nicknamed ‘Bouncing Baptiste’ and claiming the recognition and admiration of any sportsman worth his salt.
He did not have a prolonged sporting career, but for the time he was involved, he was able to set the stage for the younger generation to follow.
It all started back in the 60s, 1964 to be precise, when he made his official debut at a Caribbean Championships, which were held at Queen’s College.
But before looking at those outstanding years, it is interesting to note that Mike as a young lad had not aspired to become a tennis player.
The Aries-born Baptiste spent the early days of his life at a 175 Charlotte Street, Georgetown, home and according to him, he was a cricketer at heart during his school days. He attended the Bourda Roman Catholic School then Central High School and eventually Saint Stanislaus College.
Claiming to be a “useful leg spinner” back in those days when he played with his young friends, Mike reminisced on how he was encouraged by many an adult to pursue the game seroiusly.
“During those days the guys and I played on the street… every game, you name it, I played it, but cricket was my thing as a young boy. And lots of people, even the games masters, encouraged me to join the Malteenoes Sports Club.”
“I was one of the few that excelled in whatever game I played and I was really focusing on cricket because I bowled well and I could have batted a little too. I remember I had some reasonable performances in primary school cricket,” Mike recounted gleefully.
And he had every intention of taking the game seriously as his good friend, the legendary cricketer, Clive Lloyd, did.
But table tennis was in no way one of the games he played the least. Based on his recollection, he and his friends enjoyed the game considerably and went to great lengths to ensure they got a game going.
“We used to go about the neighbourhood when people were repairing their homes or breaking down their homes and we would take the doors…and use them to make tennis tables to play on.”
He reflected that he and his friends had a tendency to play for milk biscuits which were concealed in their pockets only seeing the light of day to pay a debt.

However, Mike’s sporting aspiration took a dramatic turn when one of his playing buddies who had disappeared for one week returned with what he dreamily described as a “beautiful trophy.”
Eager to find out the source of his friend’s accolade, Mike immediately engaged an inquisition, only to learn that it came as a result of a game of table tennis.
Although amazed by his friend’s accomplishment, he could not resist the need to highlight the fact that he was the better player and could also win a trophy.
Mike learnt that games, unlike the amateur style they indulged in, were played at the Alberttown Fire Station.
And though the players were all older, as a budding teenager Mike was anxious to take on a challenge. He developed an intense passion for the game and would even go to school with a racket tucked under his shirt, counting the hours away till he could rush off to the Fire Station to play.
It was not long before his competitive spirit earned him some real successes. In fact it was a short while after he started frequenting the Fire Station venue that a tournament was announced in which he participated.
But though he did not emerge a victor, he did make his mark at the end of the contest.
“I was able to beat a national player by the name of Clement Harper…And that was big news,” Mike recalled.
He was just about 18 years old at the time and was elated to learn that his extraordinary moves were captured by sports journalists from the Guyana Chronicle. He became the subject of a sensational headline in the newspaper’s sports section, ‘Bouncing Baptiste destroys national player’.
So impressed were the journalists that they were instrumental in helping Mike secure his first job as a proof reader at the same newspaper entity.
He was however, allowed to train as much as he liked to improve his game but yet benefited from a satisfying salary.
And so it was in 1964, as was noted earlier, that he played his first game at an elevated level. He however became somewhat wayward, even indulging in the use of nicotine and alcohol and therefore was not initially selected as part of the national team.
“I started to smoke cigarettes, drink a lot of beers and I worked the night spots and I discovered that that took away from me as a sportsman…” Mike solemnly recollected.
He opined that it was two individuals, Terry Holder and Godfrey Wray, both table tennis enthusiasts and players, who helped to keep him on track.
He eventually managed to get into the Caribbean Singles and was able to reach the quarter finals. Interestingly enough, he was the only Guyanese that year (1964) in the last eight.
Mike was matched up with defending champion, Dave Foster, a very good player and one of the best in the Caribbean. The ultimate smackdown ended with Mike losing 25-23 in the final game, which was a satisfying achievement for a freshman. He believes that he lost because of his inexperience.
Nonetheless, he was duly recognised for his game tactics and was the only male Guyanese that became eligible for an award on prize night. He was the recipient of a gold tie pin which he cherishes to this day.
Mike eventually made the national team in 1965 and represented Guyana continuously until 1974. He won his first national title in 1967 and was in fact the winner of five national championships, triumphing over table tennis stars, the likes of Morris Moore and Garth Isaacs.
Despite his passion for playing tennis, Mike still found the time volunteered his time and energies to at least three dedicated players, Christopher Chung-Wee, Doreen Chow-Wah and Denise Osman, who like him, repeatedly did Guyana proud.
His overseas bouts included trips to China, Nigeria and the Caribbean. And it was right in the twin-island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago that he became the first senior male Guyanese player to win a Caribbean title. During that tournament which was played in 1968, the mixed doubles event saw Mike teaming up with Denise Osman, affording Guyana a much coveted victory, with the victorious pair competing against compatriots George Braithwaithe and Barbara Jekir.
But it was one year before announcing his retirement, in 1974, that Mike was able to record one of his most memorable moments.
“We were playing at QC in 1973, Guyana versus Trinidad and Tobago. It was the finals of the men’s team title. It reached a stage when the teams were level, 4-4, and I had to play the tie-breaking game against one of the Caribbean’s best, Mansingh Amarsingh.” Whether it was by a stroke of good fortune or pure genius, Mike defeated Amarsingh in straight sets affording Guyana a 5-4 win and the Caribbean Men’s Team Title. Incidentally, that was the last time Guyana won that crown.
However, it was while he was at the peak of his table tennis career, with relative reluctance he decided to stop playing the game he had grown to love. But even before making that life-altering decision, he was already coaching some junior players and was appointed the National Sports Council coach which came under the Sports Ministry of Shirley Field Ridley.
In fact it was that very appointment that had prompted his then coach to introduce the idea of retiring to him.
Mike recounted that he was a part of the Guyana team that had travelled to Nigeria for the AAA Games (Asia, Africa, Latin America and Central America) games in 1974 when his then coach, Wah of China, posited the idea.

“As I played I did a little coaching but I had no intention to stop playing. But when I went to Nigeria at the end of the tour, coach said that now you are coaching, you are better and can beat those you coach so you can’t compete because it would be a conflict of interest.”
Yielding to his coach’s advice, upon his return to Guyana, Mike announced his retirement and functioned as a National Coach and also as a manager until 1994. It was while he functioned in this capacity that he wedded his sweetheart Emily with whom he shares a blissful relationship to date.
He eventually returned to the Guyana Chronicle in 1985. In 1992 he started a column ‘Gallery of the greats’ which was published in the Saturday issue of the newspaper. According to Mike, the column served to highlight facts about former outstanding sports personality who did well in their particular field.
That column ran for about two years after which he got the idea to write a book with the same title as the column that featured about 14 sports personalities. Volume one was published in 1994 and Mike indicated that he is currently working on volume two.
“I had to write a book because I felt that our young people even from back in the days… they are not aware that we had some great sports personalities and because they didn’t know them my intent was and still is to educate them…”
Both his columns and book got rave reviews from his readers and the athletes he had featured over the years. According to Mike, he got immense support from Ian McDonald in selecting the sports personalities he featured over the years. Bobby Fernandes, of John Fernandes Limited, played no little part in the publication of the book which was launched at Ovid Holder’s Universal Book Store in 1994. Seven of the featured icons celebrated the moment with him, Mike remembers.
He disclosed that it was not until “People started to ring me and express interest in the sports personalities I had featured that I realised that I was truly getting the desired effect.”
He eventually took his journalistic capabilities over to the Kaieteur Newspaper which was a budding publication at the time filling the capacity of Sports Editor.
But even as his years of journalism increased, Mike still retained his passion for tennis and volunteered his time and energies at the YMCA Thomas Lands, where he trained several junior players. Two of those players are now national players – Matthew Khan and Michelle John.
Mike was bestowed with an award from the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sport in 2007 for his contribution to table tennis.
Though today he is not confident that he has given back enough to the game, Mike claims to find some contentment in the fact that he coached and somehow helped propel three several outstanding players to reach their greatest potential.
He has however highlighted that he is saddened that more youths are not remaining committed to the game, adding that they just seem to reach to a certain level but cannot seem to meet the national team requirements.
He acknowledged, though, that plenty is being done locally for the sustenance of the sport but noted that the capability of the coaches is of some concern.
“They are good in that they can mobilise the school children and take them to a certain level but when you talk about going to Caribbean Championships, my belief is that they do not have the knowledge to really get the players to put together their skills to produce a winning game. And so I think we are falling down in that aspect. We just have to polish them up as diamonds…” Mike asserted.
He said that the dedication level on the part of the youths is also imperative, emphasising that “I would call on all youths to play a variety of games and then maybe they will discover their forte. It would not be a hindrance to their studies as some might feel,” he insisted.
Our Special Person is of the firm belief that “not only will sports help to keep you fit but it will also help you to be more disciplined, allowing you to function better as a responsible individual.”

---

---