General Secretary of the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA), Godfrey Munroe, has outlined several factors which he said were taken into consideration when selecting the four-man team to attend the LIEBHERR 2007 World Table Tennis Championships in Zagreb, Croatia from May 21-27.
In a statement released to Stabroek Sport, Munroe said that the factors include the cost, the international ratings of the players and the fact that the World Championships is a singles tournament and not a team tournament.
“We decided to look at the reality and difficulty of the GTTA or a local player, finding the financing of over US$2,000 per player to attend the games which would have been virtually impossible from a local standpoint,” Munroe explained of the selection process used to arrive at the four players.
“The decision by the players that they would fund their own way to the championships was a bonus,” said Munroe.
According to the ITTF world rankings list updated as at February 1, 2007 David is rated 695th in the World, Lewis 727th and Bishpham, who according to the ITTF is Canadian is ranked 737th.
Matthew Khan who has not been selected is rated 951st and Christopher Franklyn 1131st.
But concerns have arisen over the fact that there were no Trials held to select the team of three players and an official who is yet to be named by the GTTA.
Munroe said it would have been imprudent for the GTTA to utilise such a large volume of sponsorship to send a full-fledged team to a singles tournament when sponsorship would be needed for other events.
He indicated that the GTTA is looking to send teams to meets like the Caribbean Championships, Olympic Trials, Pan American Games Trials, Latin American Games and North American Championships.
But he missed the point that the Olympic Trials and the Pan American Games Trials are used to select the best possible players to represent regions at the Olympics and the Pan American Games and that is exactly why concerns has arisen over the method of selection of the GTTA World Championships team.
“This is not to say that exposure to the highest level of competition for our local charges is not essential but the GTTA as a whole would consider overseas-based players when there is a limitation of resources with the view of maximum benefit to be derived,” Munroe explained.
Of the players named by the GTTA, Lewis is the only player that is based in Guyana.
“The players going to these games represent our highest world-ranked players; the event is a singles event and not a team event so in the event that all the players don’t get to go then we would not incur any penalties from the Organizing Committee for the World Championships,” Munroe added.
According to the GTTA general secretary, the World Championships was not on the GTTA 2007 calendar of events. He said that the association merely facilitated the top players who were interested in attending the championships by providing the necessary documentation for accreditation.
“Since it (the World Championships) was not on the GTTA 2007 roster, the GTTA took the approach of only facilitating players who were interested and who could definitely fund their way,” he added.
Munroe said that the players’ indication that they would ensure Guyana’s representation and visibility on the world table tennis circuit opened the opportunity for the GTTA to lobby for grants and improve Guyana’s regional table tennis standing.
Munroe said that David first raised the matter with the GTTA on behalf of himself, Lewis and Bishpham on January 18 this year in light of the January 21st closing date for entries to the World Championships.
