“We hope to continue the momentum...”

“We hope to continue the momentum…”

Nov 06, 2011 Sports

– Says Greene, launches corporate contest

By Edison Jefford

President of the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA), Commissioner of Police, Henry Greene, was optimistic yesterday that his association will continue the momentum earned from generating impressive interest and activity in the sport since his administration took office.
Greene was speaking at the launch of the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI)/GTTA Inter-Organisation competition launch at the Queens College auditorium where he addressed a range of upcoming initiatives for the association.
“We are on the move and we hope to continue the momentum in table tennis. Among the various things we hope to do is ensure that we have systems in place to improve our participation at the Caribbean Championships in the Dominican Republic next year,” he said.
The GTTA President and Commissioner of Police informed the audience that comprised several corporate teams that the association will host a National Schools’ Championship next weekend.

GTTA President and Commissioner of Police, Henry Greene, prepares his backhand for defence against Captain, Anson Weekes of the GDF in the team’s competition of the Inter-Organisation tournament. Greene swept Weekes 3-0 for Officer’s Mess ‘A’ team.

It will bring the curtains down on an extremely active year with the much-anticipated National Table Tennis Championships scheduled for December.
Greene also mentioned that the India-based table tennis equipment company, Stag has already sent the second shipment of equipment to Guyana. He said that it is on its way. The association and Stag had signed a three-year sponsorship arrangement that covers the development of the sport.
He highlighted those aspects of the new administration’s management of the sport as part of a successful development thrust for the association. Greene argued that none of the association’s plans would have been possible without the support of the corporate community, which is one of the reasons the GTTA proposed the Inter-Organisation tournament to envelope the corporate community.
Administration Manager at GBTI, Shawn Noel affirmed the company’s commitment toward the advancement of table tennis, stating that the company was impressed with last year’s results.
He said that he anticipated a growth in a response to the tournament this year and was enthused to see that became an outcome.
The GTTA Inter-Organisation tournament was held last year at the National Gymnasium, but the association was compelled to move to the Queens College auditorium owed to renovation works that are ongoing at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
Director of Sport, Neil Kumar said that the impressive layout and decor of the auditorium reminded him of the keen rivalries at the venue when he was young. Kumar congratulated the association for involving the corporate community in such magnitude.
“Have fun and enjoy the competition. I want you to know that the National Sports Commission will continue to work closely with the table tennis association,” Kumar said, before challenging the GTTA to extend their decentralisation plan to the rural communities.
After the speeches, Greene shifted adrenaline to Table Two where he thrashed Guyana Defence Force Captain, Anson Weekes in the preliminary round of the team’s competition. Greene is one of the players on the Police Officers’ Mess ‘A’ Team.
Some early qualifiers into the last 16 up to Kaieteur News press time included, Officers’ Mess ‘A’, Guyana Police Force ‘A’, GISE ‘A’, GISE ‘B’, Rasville Youth Organisation ‘A’ and Blue Thunder ‘B’, with competition continuing today and tomorrow.