EIGHT Caribbean countries have confirmed their participation for next month’s Caribbean Junior and Cadet Table Tennis Championships, which will be held in Guyana at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) April 13-19.
The Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) on Tuesday issued a release announcing that in addition to the Guyana side, the competition will see the participation of athletes from Barbados, Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, Aruba, Jamaica, St Vincent, Suriname and French Guiana.
The contingent is expected to comprise the Caribbean’s crème of the crop in junior table tennis. Players will converge on the land of many waters and battle for regional supremacy, in the Under-15 and Under-18 age categories.
Competition will be contested in Boys’ and Girls’ singles, doubles and mixed doubles in both age categories.
Upping the stakes even higher is the fact that the teams will also be battling for a spot in the 2nd Pan American Junior and Cadet Table Tennis Championships scheduled for the USA in September of 2017.
Only the top four Caribbean teams will move on to the Pan-Am Championships, where they will meet with the top four teams from Central American and the top four teams from South America.
Taking advantage of home ground advantage, the Guyana is expected to field a team of 32 players. The GTTA has already shortlisted the squad who are already undergoing training in preparation of their fierce encounter.
At the tournament last year in the Dominican Republic, Guyana, because of financial restrictions fielded only a male team of five players: Shemar Britton, Kyle Edghill, Miguel Wong, Nickolus Romain and Elishaba Johnson.
Notwithstanding the small size, however, the team represented Guyana well. They were able to secure a silver medal finish in the Boys’ 18-and-Under team event, while Johnson and Edghill collected gold in the Boys’ doubles.
The team’s silver had secured the boys a spot at the inaugural Pan American Junior and Cadet Championships in Canada last year June.
This opportunity, however, because of financial constraints, fell by the wayside. Nevertheless the opportunity is coming around again for Edghill, Wong, Romain and Johnson, who are again part of this year’s line-up. Unfortunately for Britton he has aged out of the category.
The junior boys’ team provides a very formidable line-up to covet the Junior boys team title. The team also includes Tyriq Saunders, Terrence Rausche, Yeudistr Persuad, Kaysan Ninvalle, Brandon Jaikarran, Navindra Persaud, Jeremey Singh, Isaiah Layne Niron Bissu, Khalil Ninvalle Jonathan Van Lange, among others.
On the Girls side Priscillia Greaves will lead Guyana’s challenge in the Girls 18 years-and-Under. She will form alliance with young Neveah Clarkston, Salenas Jackman, Jamali Homer, Abidale Martin, Onieka Philips, Davona Bess, Thuraia Thomas and Christie Lopes, among others.