Table Tennis continues to challenge for mainstream attention

Jan 06, 2013 Sports

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 – after another year of extensive growth and development

 

The Guyana Table Tennis Association’s (GTTA) administration of local Table Tennis continues to challenge for mainstream attention after yet another year of growth and development in 2012 at the domestic, regional and international levels.
Notwithstanding the death of President, Henry Greene, the embattled former Commissioner of Police, the sport still managed to end the year on a high when one of its shining lights Chelsea Edghill won the Super Singles title in Trinidad and Tobago.
The year under review began with its usual year-round training sessions at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) and National Gymnasium for beginners, semi-intermediate, intermediate and advanced players.
In February, the association hosted the Annual Mashramani Table Tennis Tournament with the late President, Greene, in his opening remarks, welcoming the participants and stating that table tennis is on the move throughout the length and breadth of Guyana.
He had indicated that the GTTA is achieving its objective of decentralising the sport nationwide to have more tennis being played in Guyana. That has been essentially the mission statement for the association over the past two years.
The tournament had more than 220 participants in 25 categories and approximately 25 schools; participants came from both schools and clubs from Linden, Berbice, East Coast Demerara, East Bank Demerara and West Demerara.
In March, the GTTA Cadets (15 years and under) and Juniors (18 years and under) trial matches to select players for the Junior and Cadet Caribbean Table Tennis Championship in Havana Cuba at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

Bryton Murray, Joseph Johnson, Shemar Britton, Elishaba Johnson, Joshua Lalbachan, Ryan Narine, Scott Garraway, Stefan Corlette, Sachin Panday, Sunil Logan, Samuel Fraser and David Duncan were identified Cadets and Juniors identified.
The GTTA followed that up with a top 16 Men’s, top 8 Women’s and a Pee Wee (13 years and under) Table Tennis Tournament at CASH where Nigel Bryan, Joel Alleyne and Colin France took the top three Men’s prizes. Trenace Lowe, Chelsea Edghill and Jody-Ann Blake took away the Women’s prizes, which were lucrative cash sums. Elishaba Johnson, Priscilla Greaves and Jeremy Singh were the Pee-Wee winners.
The following month, President of the Caribbean Regional Table Tennis Federation (CRTTF), Juan Villa, held a meeting with the attending delegations at the Cadet and Junior Championships concerning Table Tennis in the Region.
During the Championship Guyana came up against the strongest and more prepared players from Cuba and Dominican Republic. Chelsea Edghill continued her ascendancy with the lone Singles’ medal for Guyana, silver in the 15 years and under Girls’ contest.
She played unbeaten throughout the competition and lost to hosts Cuba, Idalys Lovet Valdez, in the finals. At the conclusion of the Championship, Cuba won the most medals with Dominican Republic second and Trinidad & Tobago third.
In May, the Independence Table Tennis Tournament 2012 was held with the youngest National Champion in Guyana’s history, Nigel Bryan taking the male honours and Trenace Lowe on top again in the Men’s and Women’s Singles categories respectively.
At the Closing Ceremony, the late GTTA President, Greene congratulated the National Sports Commission (NSC) for delivering a well-organized tournament. The Independence tournament is one of three competitions that have the NSC backing annually.
Meanwhile, The Business School sponsored School Team Table Tennis Tournament commenced during the last weekend of June at the National Gymnasium. Queens College picked up two titles namely the 15 years and under and the 18 years and under, and took the overall Champion trophy in the process.
Mae’s won the 13 years and under and North Georgetown got the 11 years and under; the Teams Tournament attracted over 50 entries and 135 players from 18 participating schools with Marian Academy being the only all-girls team namely, Jamaali Homer, Priscilla Greaves and Kristie Lopes.
Following the Schools’ tournament, the  “Teach Them Young” Summer Camp targeting children 18 years and younger with sessions running from 10:00–12:00 daily from Monday to Friday took over the summer.
The camp was aimed at developing the level of table tennis; to help children with the basic skills; to be better prepared for future tournaments; to increase the number of participants involved in the sport; create an integrated programme that incorporates the coach’s education. ITTF Level I Coach, Gavin Lowe facilitated the camp in August.
The camp also facilitated the visiting Barbados Table Tennis Club, comprising cadet players at the beginners and at the intermediate levels. The Barbadians were hosted during August 8-15 at the National Gymnasium with daily sessions.
Guyana won overall at the seventh Pre-Cadet Caribbean Table Tennis (TT) Championships in Jamaica after picking up a total of five gold medals, four silver medals and ten bronze medals to topple the usually strong Dominican Republic.
Guyana secured a total of 48 points to win overall ahead of the 46 points that Dom Rep secured. Barbados was third. In the history of table tennis, no team has ever brought back so many medals at any level, complimenting the GTTA training programmes.
The 13-Years-and-Under Boys team comprised Elishaba Johnson, Kyle Edghill, Miguel Wong and Rajiv Muneshwer; they defeated Barbados 3-1 in the final to win gold. Earlier in the group stages, Barbados had beaten Guyana 3-1 but could not repeat that performance.
The U-13 Girls team namely Priscilla Greaves, Jamaali Homer and Kristie Lopes won the round-robin playoff when they beat Jamaica in the deciding match 3-1 to also win gold. In the Boys Doubles, Edghill and Johnson beat the Barbados pair of Stephen Payne and Tyrese Knight 3-1 in the final.
The GTTA continued its trend developed under Greene of rewarding success when it financially recognised the efforts of the Pre-Cadets team that won overall at the Caribbean Championships in Jamaica.

Guyana’s most celebrated junior female table tennis player, Edghill participated in an ITTF Latin American Junior Circuit in Mexico, which had an immense impact on her career moving forward to completely dominate the domestic and regional circuits. She reached the quarterfinal in the U-15 category playing among the best junior players in the super-strong Latin American block. The talented player received an ITTF ranking as a result.
Members of Guyana’s national table tennis team, including Lowe, Bryan, Joel Alleyne, Edinho Lewis, Denzel Hopkinson and Priscilla Greaves completed intense training at the Lily Yip Table Tennis Training Centre in Dunellen, New Jersey in August.
While there, the players were exposed to playing with top level Chinese and US players, Adam Hugh, Judy Hugh and Lily Yip, who is a four-time Olympian and who owns the facility. In the programme, the players were exposed to technical and tactical strengthening, short play, speed and footwork drills, point management, strength training, stamina, service and reception among other critical elements of the game.
The training paid dividends when Guyana’s 10-member team came away with two silver medals and three bronze medals at the 54th Senior Caribbean Table Tennis Championships that was held in the Dominican Republic. Colin France, competing in the veteran’s 50 years and over category, secured a silver medal on the final day.
Chelsea Edghill gained a bronze in the Girls Under-21 Singles. She lost 3-1 to eventual winner, Lineth Vila of the Dominican Republic. In the Men’s Singles category, Paul David won bronze, losing 4-2 in the semi-final in a close encounter to champion, Hector Morales Berrios of Puerto Rico.
In the Men’s Doubles, Bryan and David secured a bronze medal when they lost 3-0 to Dexter St. Louis and Curtis Humphreys of Trinidad and Tobago. Guyana’s women team, Lowe, Cummings and Edghill won a silver medal.
September highlights one of the darkest epochs in the association’s calendar year, following the death the death of Greene, GTTA President, and former Commissioner of Police, who died in a car accident on the West Coast of Demerara. Greene had undoubtedly taken player incentive and standard to a high level in the sport. The sport was forced to quickly recover.
Greene’s demise brought long-standing General Secretary, Godfrey Munroe to fore as the GTTA President acting. Weeks after, Munroe was formally elected to the post following the association AGM and Elections.
Munroe was elected unopposed at the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) Headquarters when the GTTA held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Elections. University of Guyana Sports Officer, Lavern Fraser-Thomas performed Returning Officer duties.
Dr. Pradeep Balram was elected senior Vice-President as Patrick Triumph junior Vice-President.
Longstanding Assistant Secretary/Treasurer, Linden Johnson was elected to fill Munroe’s vacant General Secretary Post with Andrew Daly and Lisa Lewis elected to serve as Assistant Secretary/ Treasurer and Deirdre Edghill elected to function as the new Treasurer
While the GTTA was sorting its administration, Edghill and Korean partner won the team event 3-0 at the Scotia Bank Junior and Cadet Open in Canada. Edghill also played in the Singles and Consolation competitions and finished in the top eight in both.
In an effort to support students with disabilities, the NSC in with the GTTA, held a six-hour coaching session with teachers working with children with disabilities from October 2-5 at the National Gymnasium.
Presently, six institutions cater for students with disabilities but only three institutions attended the seminar. David Rose School for the Handicap Children, Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre and The Special Needs of School East Bank Demerara attended.
The course saw Marvin Lewis, Oneka Chiddie, Rita Joseph, Faranaz Haneof and Marcia Lewis completing the course.
Any layman analysis will suggest that when you have the best player in a country on your team, you should win any tournament. Well, Bishop’s High School proved that assessment true in the Digicel Schools’ Table Tennis Championships.
The Chelsea Edghill-led Bishop’s High School notched their second overall title in the Under-15 category of the GTTA/Digicel-sponsored Championships to get their second overall gold medal after winning the U-18 category as well.
The GTTA’s decentralisation programme that started under Greene continued with the inaugural Berbice Table Tennis Championship, which at the Berbice High School Auditorium Queenstown New Amsterdam under the

 

 

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