– Denzel Hopkinson’s rise in the sport of table tennis has been nothing short of meteoric
By Donald Duff
At first glance, Denzel Hopkinson appears to be your average teenager, now discovering the joys of life and sport.
He speaks softly, almost hesitantly, as if unsure of himself and his shy smile coupled with his good manners make him one of the most well-liked youngsters on the table tennis scene.
He is also the fastest rising star on the local scene and the reasons for his rapid development are three-fold.
On the one hand, Hopkison is one of the few young players to have his own coach, who is none other than former three-time national men’s singles champion and current number two male player, Colin France.
The second reason is his father, Harold `Top Gun’ Hopkinson and the third is that Denzel has a love and desire to play table tennis that is unparalled among his peers.
Last September, young Hopkinson was still grappling to come to terms with the basics of the sport even though he was a member of the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) squad training for the Cadet championships in Santo Domingo.
