Guyana national women and men’s table tennis teams will venture to Kingston, Jamaica today to battle for regional honours at the 60th edition of the Caribbean Senior Table Tennis championships which concludes September 30.
The men’s team will be led by national champion Christopher Franklin, who will be accompanied by Nigel Bryan, Shemar Britton and Joel Alleyne while the women’s team comprises Chelsea Edghill, Natalie Cummings, Trenace Lowe Jody Ann Blake and Priscilla Greaves who will compete in the Under 21 category.
The Caribbean championships, a signature tournament on the GTTA’s calendar of events, is a platform for regional table tennis supremacy and allows the association to lobby for international support among other benefits.
The competition has taken on greater importance given that the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has assigned this competition as one of the qualification events for the 2019 Pan American Games, which, by extension, is one of the key qualification events for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
The other participating countries are Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Martinique, Guadeloupe, French Guiana and hosts Jamaica.
A total of 10 events will be held: Men’s Team, Women’s Team, Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles, Mixed Doubles, Under 21 Men’s Singles, Under 21 Women’s Singles, and Over 45 Men’s Singles. Play will commence from 9 am daily with three sessions scheduled daily. (Royston Alkins)
