Director of Sport Neil Kumar yesterday disclosed that a Chinese table tennis coach and an interpreter will be arriving in the country tomorrow for a one-year stint.

Kumar made the disclosure at yesterday’s opening ceremony of the West Indies Sports Complex-sponsored mini-cadet, cadet and junior tournament at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

Kumar also expressed delight at the commencement of the tournament which involves table tennis players from schools.

He said that the future of the sport resided in the hands of the schoolchildren and charged both players and coaches to maximize the opportunity of having an overseas coach.

President of the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) Anil Nandlall declared the tournament open in the presence of more than fifty junior players.

“Tournaments like this is particularly important since it will allow younger players, that is from mini cadets, and cadets, to be involved which will allow them to grow and improve the level of their game.” he said.

He added that the GTTA plans to develop table tennis at the school level by placing tables in schools throughout the nation.

Towards this end, Nandalall said the GTTA was requesting contributions from various organizations.

Mohammed Khan of West Indies Sports Complex pledged his continued support to the tournament which will commence this afternoon from 3.30pm at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall with the nine years-and-under and the 11-years-and-under categories.

Matches will continue tomorrow while the tournament will conclude on Sunday with the presentation ceremony.