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Construction of Table Tennis facility will be a major boost – GTTA head Munroe
By Zaheer Mohamed
Following the commendable performances at the just concluded Caribbean Regional Table Tennis Federation (CRTTF) pre-Cadet championship at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) Wednesday evening last, Director of Youth Sport, Neil Kumar, said that Government has committed to the construction of a $50M table tennis facility in the near future. Mr. Kumar made this commitment moments after the curtains were drawn on the championships.
Godfrey Munroe
The announcement was well greeted by President of the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA), Godfrey Munroe, who told Kaieteur Sport that the facility would benefit Guyana and other Caribbean territories tremendously. “This would enhance preparation for our national team as well as players at different levels,” said Mr. Munroe.
A former national player, Munroe feels that such a facility can also serve as the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) High Yield Centre thus exposing local players to high level coaching, players and equipment which would raise the profile and level of the sport locally.
Munroe said that the just concluded championships have uncovered the need for a home for table tennis to provide adequate training time for the players on a structured basis. The GTTA boss stated that the level of skills exhibited over the period of the championships underlined the quality of play available at the Caribbean level.
He admitted to the challenges involved in hosting the tournament while stressing that there is much room for improvement. “It was challenging but we have learned a lot which would stand us in good stead for future competitions,” Munroe confessed. He said that his executives will review those areas where they felt they had faltered while endeavoring to improve for future engagements.
He feels that the Pre Cadet championships are the launching pad for the development of local players while enhancing their chances for growth in the sport. “The benefits to the sport locally could be phenomenal,” he lamented.
Meanwhile, commenting on Guyana’s performance at the tournament, Munroe believes that Guyana did well, but said the players need more exposure. ”I think we did fairly well, we have to understand the competitiveness of world table tennis wherein as you cannot rest on your success, you have to always try to improve given the nature and demand of sports. One has to take into consideration that half of the team were debutants and each player on the team won a medal of some sort”, he added.
The President opined that the players must be tutored at a young age. “The championship reemphasized the need for us to aggressively and strategically focus the activities of the GTTA in the direction of youth development (not to neglect our senior players), but to concentrate on our primary Schools and community based programmes so as to capture the players at a much younger age which will ensure that we have a good nucleus of players for the future.
Guyana placed second in the championships capturing six gold, seven silver and thirteen bronze. The Tournament was won by Trinidad and Tobago.
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