AFTER ENDURING a 12-hour journey to neighbouring Suriname, Team Guyana arrived to compete in the final leg of the 2014 Inter-Guiana Games which gets on the way today and concludes on Sunday October 26. 

This year marks over 40 years since the three countries (Guyana Suriname and French Guiana) are competing against one another in the spirit of ‘Goodwill’ and, after winning the first leg of the event which was held in Guyana earlier this year, ‘The Land of Many Waters’ will be aiming to win outright.
Some of the country’s best athletes in the disciplines of Cycling, Chess, Volleyball and Badminton were selected by their respective Associations/Federations but Guyana will not be competing in the male and female football event.
Following the opening ceremony at the Ismay van Wilgen Sporthal at 16:00hrs, Guyana’s female volleyball team will take on French Guiana after which the men will engage the hosts at 19:00hrs.
Cycling Male and Female time trials are set for 08:00hrs then the three countries young minds will square off in the game of Chess at the Star Dust Hotel at 10:00hrs simultaneously with table tennis and badminton being contested at the Table Tennis Centre Zinniastraat and the Chinese Sporthal.
Director of Sport Neil Kumar, who greeted the 76-member Guyanese delegation, expressed his delight at the prospects of Guyana dethroning defending overall Champions Suriname.
He encouraged the Guyanese contingent to be good ambassadors and stressed the importance of coming out victorious but playing in the spirit of the championships.
The Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) has selected its best juniors with St. Stanislaus College’s Elishaba Johnson and Mae’s Kyle Edghill being the most notable of the four players, with Priscilla Greaves of Marian Academy and Selenas Jackman as their team members.
The Ramdhani siblings, Narayan and Priyanna, will spearhead a strong badminton team that also includes their Marian Academy school mates Krystal Peters and Jonathan Mangra as well as Ambika Ramraj of Queen’s College.
For long, French Guiana have held a rigid hold on chess but the team of Haifeng Su, Jessica Clementson, Roberto Neto and Sheriffa Ali are all aiming to win Guyana’s first title in the sport, while much is expected of Guyana’s male and female Volleyball teams, since their triumph is seen as a must, if Suriname are to be dethroned for their overall title.
Volleyball (female): Onica Felix, Vashti Pooran, Rafaella Richardson, Kelshine Griffith, Tenisha Cort, Melisa Marks, Lisa Marks, Akeila Brown, Padmini Nankoo, Dian Mandokin and Cassie Junor.
Volleyball (male): Davendra Latchman, Anthony Fraser, Kumar Budhram, Anthony Veerapen, Muaaz Inshan, Rolwyn Heywood, Daniel Ritchie, Klondyke Rodney, Joshua Jagmohan, Ravi Rampartab, Xavier Lambert, Yoganand Dhoray and Ryon Mangrau.
Written By Rawle Toney in Suriname