From left, Idi Lewis, Natalie Cummings and Christopher Franklin pose for Kaieteur Sport before they depart for the CAC Championships in Puerto Rico where they will join Paul David, Trenace Lowe and Michelle John for the table tennis competition.
– chances hang in the balance
The Guyana-based players, who are part of the national table tennis team that will compete at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games, departed these shores early this morning for San Juan, Puerto Rico before travelling to Mayagüez for competition.
The team left Guyana to join their United States-based counterparts where they will combine the necessary skills to give the country a chance in the table tennis competition that gets underway in the city of Mayagüez on July 22 and conclude eight days later.
The players that departed this morning from Guyana included Idi Lewis, Christopher Franklin and Natalie Cummings while US-based Michelle John, Paul David and Trenace Lowe will meet them in the North American territory from the United States. General Secretary of the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA), Godfrey Munroe reiterated his earlier point in a comment to this newspaper last night. He said that the competition will be a very tough challenge for the players because of the zone.
Munroe indicated that players from the Central and South American blocks are usually very tight competitors, but said that the local contingent, and those based overseas have been in training for some time and should be ready for the challenges that will be posed.
Paul David is a seasoned campaigner on the US circuit while Lewis had some exposure at some high-profiled competitions for Guyana in the recent past. Franklin has impressed the association with his steady development following a break from the sport.
In the female competition, US scholarship holder Michelle John has also been playing in the US as part of her scholarship terms while Trenace Lowe has remained active since migrating. It will be a new experience for Cummings, who will make her debut.
Munroe believes that the first step for the team will be getting through the rounds then they can look more closely at getting on the podium once that is done. He said they have the experience to get them through and all Guyana should support the team. (Edison Jefford)