Regarded as the best player from the Caribbean for more than three decades, St Louis passed away in French city Bordeaux where he had made his home.

He made his international debut for Trinidad and Tobago at the age of just 15 in 1983 and competed at the Atlanta 1996 and Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

St Louis also left his mark at the Commonwealth Games, particularly Manchester 2002 where table tennis made its debut.

He appeared against hosts England in the men's team event and remained unbeaten.

At the Gold Coast 2018 Games, St Louis competed after a legal battle against the Trinidad and Tobago Table Tennis Association who originally did not pick either him or stepdaughter Rheann Chung for the squad.

It was claimed that the French-based duo did not meet selection criteria.

At the Americas qualification tournament for the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, St Louis recovered from a seemingly doomed position to defeat Mexico's Marcos Madrid and book his place in China.

He celebrated by taking off his shirt and standing on the table in a "warrior prince" pose.

The International Table Tennis Federation were among those to pay tribute.

"An exuberant character, a showman; in fact Dexter St. Louis was the exact opposite," they said.

"In the hotel, away from the glare of the playing arena, he would be sitting reading the Financial Times or similar.

"It was not for him late nights and drinking; talk to him and you realised you were in the company of a very astute, intelligent associate, a man of the very highest integrity.

"A character of the sport but most importantly a sportsman in the true sense of the word, always competitive but always fair; our thoughts are with his family, Dexter St Louis is sadly missed but never forgotten."

St Louis played club table tennis in France for Bordeaux.

His attorney, Matthew Gayle, said: "Dexter will be remembered for his relentless work ethic, sense of humour and passion for justice, as well as for his honesty, fair-play and his open and transparent approach to sport and to life."