President of the Guyana Table Tennis Association, Godfrey Munroe said yesterday that Guyana’s table tennis contingent to the upcoming Islamic Solidarity Games will reap benefits beyond their attendance at the Baku, Azerbaijan event.
Munroe, during an exclusive interview with Stabroek Sports, said that the players’ attendance will go a long way in putting their chances in good stead for the upcoming Senior Caribbean Table Tennis championships while also giving the locals the opportunity to gain International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) rankings.
“Commenting on the Islamic Games, I think it’s fitting that the games are being held at this time because it allows us the opportunity to give exposure to some of our seasoned and senior players,” he said.
“Some of the players in this realm would actually be prospects for the Caribbean championships come July in Cuba. What this tournament does is one, give us the opportunity to re-establish world rankings for the players which should last us throughout the year which will help our cause regionally since our players will be higher ranked and seeded as per their level.
“Second, the level at the games will be high with players competing from Egypt and Iran and so on who are highly rated which will give us a good indication of where the players are. The last time Christopher Franklin participated he reached the quarter finals and narrowly missed out on a semifinal position,” Munroe added.
Munroe, who seems keen on advancing Guyana’s reputation on the international circuit added that his intention was to establish Guyana as a more dominant force, in time to come.
“We are building towards establishing that ranking with a view of being more dominant at the senior level and also we see this as one of the key events leading to a bigger plan that we have for the 2018 Gold Coast [Queensland, Australia] Commonwealth Games in April [4 -15] of next year.”
Touching on the podium prospects for the games, Munroe declared that Guyana’s seasoned racket-wielders should fare well but pointed out that Shemar Britton’s absence due to his current academic commitment will be a blow to the team.
Guyana’s national recognition will be placed on the racquets of Chelsea Edghill, Trenace Lowe, Natalie Cummings, Christopher Franklin, Nigel Bryan and Joel Alleyne while ldi Lewis will perform the coaching duties. The games run from tomorrow to May 22nd in Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku which rests on the coastline along the Caspian Sea.
