One of Saint Lucia’s top table tennis players is on the move again, as the sport continues to evolve on the island. Joshua Lubin is in the Republic of China (Taiwan) to take up studies in biotechnology and food nutrition. After the busiest year of his life, Lubin will be studying Mandarin at Ming Chuan University for the next 12 months, before going to the Taiwan National University. Along the way, he will be honing his skills on the tables.
Since 2024, Lubin has won the Under-19 National Day tournament, and Inter School Under-19’s for the second consecutive year. He was part of the team that took third at the Caribbean Youth Championships in Barbados, sealing their qualification for the Pan Am Junior Games in Asuncion, Paraguay. After the trip, he travelled to Argentina for the ITTF Pan Am Junior Championships, while contesting the Caribbean Senior Championships.
It’s been wall-to-wall action for Lubin, who also won the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College road race for the second year in a row, and then won the Under-20 division at the interschool road race. But he has not had it all his way, especially early on in the National Table Tennis League.
“I had a rough start,” he admitted.
“With a record of ten wins and two defeats in the first round. And me, being the leader of my team, put us in the second position after the first round, not the position we wanted. Then came the Independence Day classic where I was able to secure a third place in the senior men’s singles and a silver medal in the Under-19 singles, again not the results I wanted with the goal I had in mind, but I kept pushing forward.”
Around his 19th birthday in March, Lubin travelled with Manie Eleuthere and Shatal Charles to the LQ Invitational Classic in Grenada. Lubin took silver behind Eleuthere, as the Saint Lucian’s won mixed teams, girls’ doubles, boys’ doubles, girls’ Under-19, Under-15 doubles, and boys Under-19 singles. Later, the Caribbean Youth Champs in April presented a new challenge.
“I had to play against Trinidad’s number one junior player, an overseas-based player, who I lost to last year at the same competition in the same event in Dominican Republic,” recalled Lubin.
“But this time I felt ready. I went in confident and ready to give my team the much-needed win for us to qualify for the bigger competition. And I did just that after beating him 3-1. I officially raised the bar of the best overseas player I have beaten in my junior career, the highlight of my competition.”
Born and raised in Dennery, but a resident of Entrepôt since the age of 10, Lubin was notified that he would be heading to the far East in June. He was left juggling university preparations and getting ready for the biggest junior games in the western hemisphere. Sorting documents as a teenager whilst training at a high level left Lubin drained, but he is keen to get the most out of his time in Taiwan.
“I would like to get as much experience playing against different players, different styles.
“This is exactly what we lack in Saint Lucia, the numbers, as compared to here, where more people are playing. I also hope to make my school team, which is the equivalent of making the national team for Saint Lucia, or even harder, so I have heard! I want to return and help take Saint Lucia table tennis to another level.”
Lubin showed an atypical progression having never played table tennis at Dennery Infant School or Canon Laurie Anglican Primary School. He only got into the sport at the age of 13, whilst at St Mary’s College. Eleuthere, Deandre Calderon, Charles, and Leshon Francis were all primary school champions.
“I am very much happy with the way the sport is developing locally, especially with the implementation of high-performance science-based training by coach [Chris] Wells,” expressed Lubin.
“With his expertise and studies in the high-performance field I can say for sure that the sport has grown from where it was compared to the last 10 years. And I know that without a doubt, in the next 10 years, we will produce a world-class player, whether it be male or female.
“Take me for example. How can a boy who picked up a racket for the first time at 13 years old, in an after-school programme, in a Third World country qualify for the biggest junior games in my continental region without a solid programme. This is just a testament to show that the programme is working. And this is not word of mouth but evidence-based.”
