‘Postponement of the Olympics gives me a chance to be more prepared’ Says Table Tennis star Chelsea Edghill

Apr 12, 2020 Sports

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By Sean Devers

Twenty-two-year-old former Caribbean U-21 Table Tennis Champion and Pan-Am Games Qualifier Guyanese Chelsea Edghill was one month away from possible qualification for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo Japan when the deadly pandemic COVID-19 brought the World and Sports, to a virtual standstill forcing the qualifiers set for March in Argentina to be called off and later the Olympics itself.

Chelsea, who was born in Brooklyn New York on July 6, 1997 to Godfrey Edghill and Deirdre Baynes-Edghill, will have to wait for another year to try and fulfil her dream of being an Olympian.
Chelsea and her Coach Tony Rato of Portugal travelled to Finland last December to participate in the Finland Open Table Tennis Championships which was used as part of her Olympic Qualification preparation since the tournament was an ITTF World Circuit event.
Following her participation in Finland, Chelsea then travel to Romania to train, before returning to Portugal to prepare for other key engagements.
“The postponement of the Olympics to next year has given me the chance to be even more prepared, since, had the games not been postponed, it would’ve been very difficult to prepare for the Olympic qualification and even attending the tournament would have been difficult taking into consideration the health implications.
The Coronavirus has had a negative impact on the tournament preparations and the inability to practice and to go to the gym has made it a bit difficult to stay fit and in top form but not impossible,” lamented the former Youth Olympian.
Chelsea, presently in Portugal where she has a contract to play division two table tennis with Portuguese club Lusitania de Lourosa, told the people in Guyana, where COVID-19 has caused 37 infections including six deaths (up Good Friday) to stay safe and stay at home if they had nothing urgent to do outdoors.
“If it is that you can stay inside, do so and not take any chances as this virus does not discriminate on who it infects and who it proves fatal to. In this time that we are facing, let acts of compassion and caution be at the forefront of your thoughts and not those of recklessness and ignorance. Practice proper hygiene and continue to follow the guidelines of the health agencies in Guyana,” the four-time NSC’s Junior Sportswoman of the Year advised.

Chelsea, who resides in Meadow Brook Gardens when she is at home, attended the Mae’s Primary (2001-2009) and the Bishops High (2009-2015) and began her Table Tennis Career in 2006.
“In Guyana, for most of my years of playing, I was a member of the Malteenoes Sports Club. I played my first match in July 2006 after the “Teach them young” programme was concluded. It was at that programme that I learned to play under the tutelage of Coach Linden Johnson,” said the talented Chelsea who won first Place in the Under 11 Singles, U-13 Singles and was adjudged the Most Outstanding Female Player in Business College-Inter Schools Competitionin 2007.
Her first Caribbean Table Tennis Cadets Championship was in Trinidad where she won Silver with the U-11 Team and another Silver U-11 in the Doubles and since then she had not looked back.
In 2008 Chelsea won Gold in the U-11, 13 and 15 in the GTTA/NSC-Independence Tournament in which she got the Most Improved Player Award. She journeyed to the Tobago Open and reached the Quarterfinals in theJunior Open U-13 before competing in the Charles Chocolate Ping Pong Championships in Trinidad.
The skilful young woman reached the Quarterfinals of the Caribbean Table Tennis Championship-Cadets in Barbados in theJunior U-13 Singles and in the 14th Annual Junior Caribbean Table Tennis Championship in St Kitts she reached Junior U-15 Singles Quarterfinals.
The next year Chelsea won Gold in the U-13 and Silver in the U-15, U-18 and the Open Doubles in Mashramani Tournament and in 2010, in the 5th Caribbean Table Tennis Championship – Cadets in Puerto Rico, she copped Gold in the U-13 Singles.
In the ITTF Global Junior Circuit Event in Puebla, Mexico in July 2012 Chelsea was a Quarter Finalist and in the 54th Senior Caribbean Table Tennis Championships in Santo Domingo in August 2012 Chelsea won Bronze in the U-21 Female, while she captured Silver in the U-15 Singles of the17th Caribbean Table Tennis Championship – Junior in Cuba.

In 2013, in the Senior Caribbean Championships in St. Lucia she won Silver in the U-21 Women’s Singles and was awarded the Junior sports woman of the Year for the first time.
“I took a six-month period off from Table Tennis to study for the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination before being awarded a partial scholarship to attend Lindenwood University in Saint Charles, Missouri. The five-year scholarship allowed me to train, play and participate in high-level competitions against top level players on a consistent basis in view of achieving Olympic qualification. I Graduated last year with a BS in Chemistry from the Lindenwood University,” informed Chelsea who was again named Junior Sportswoman of the year 2015.
Her good form with the Racquet continued when she won the Women’s Singles in the 2016 Guyana National Table Tennis Championships before Chelsea completed an impressive showing on the intercollegiate circuit, winning the Women’s Singles at the National Regional Division Intercollegiate Table Tennis Championships. The competition pits upper Midwest Division teams against Lower Midwest Division teams and was played at the gymnasium of the University of Lindenwood Missouri.
In the 2017 Senior Caribbean Championships in Havana Cuba Chelsea, who enjoys reading novels, journals and listening to music, won Bronze in Women’s U-21 before participating in the 2017 Islamic Games in Baku, Azerbaijan.

In 2018, Chelsea was a Quarterfinalist in the Women’s singles at the South American Games, while in the Caribbean Championships in Kingston Jamaica, the Guyanese emerged as U-21 Women’s Champion.
Ranked 397 in the World in September 2019, the 2018 NSC’s Senior Sportswoman of the Year is enjoying an illustrious career, but the Pan Am Games in Peru in May 2019 where she lost in the women’s singles first round to Colombia’s Paola Medina, stands out in her mind.
“I think my most memorable moment in the sport to date would have to be qualifying for the Pan Am Games in Peru last May. The moment wasn’t in the qualification itself but rather after when I realized the accomplishment of the qualification. It ended an almost 30-year drought in having someone qualify for the Games,” said Chelsea.
“I think the standard of the game in Guyana in recent years has been very low and this is in comparison to our counterparts in the Caribbean. It is my opinion that, even though more needs to be done for the sport from an administrative standpoint and also from a National standpoint, more needs to be done individually. Players and parents of players need to invest more in themselves and charges. In doing so it raises the level overall,” said Chelsea, who also likes partying, wine tasting when she is on vacation, traveling and site seeing.
Chelsea is the National champion, 2018 Caribbean Women U-21 champion, Caribbean Women’s Doubles champion, Caribbean Women’s bronze medallist 2019, several collegiate tournaments wins, Caribbean Cadet and Junior champion, Caribbean Women’s team silver medallist 2018 and 2019. She is currently training and playing competition in Portugal.
“The main people who have helped my game would be my parents and a few coaches namely, Lisa Lewis, Idi Lewis, and Antonio Rato,” the USA born Guyanese concluded.

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