A QUARTET of ladies including overseas-based Trenace Lowe will carry Guyana’s hopes of medalling in Table Tennis when the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games opens in Veracruz, Mexico later this week.

Lowe will join forces with locals Chelsea Edghill, Natalie Cummings and Akecia Nedd, who will represent the Golden Arrowhead in the sport at the Games, under the guidance of coach Idi Lewis.
The four will contest the singles, doubles and team event and while Lewis would not make any medal predictions ahead of the games, he said ‘It’s an uphill task, the Central American teams are very strong and they’re very prepared.’
He, however, believes the girls have the ability to be a force to be reckoned with.
“This group of players we have here I think is one of the best prepared teams we’ve had in a very long time because for this year. The girls have been together and they’ve been to the Pan American festival in Mexico.
“Trenace and Chelsea trained in China, they also played the Commonwealth Games and Chelsea also played in the Olympics, so the girls have been very busy from the high level competition as a team so I expect them to give a good account of themselves,” said Lewis.
President of the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) Godfrey Munroe puts it down to mindset.
“It’s all about mental conditioning going out there and doing your best, giving yourself a chance. They have the ability and capacity to medal at a bronze medal level but it’s still tough, because a lot of the other countries are doing a lot, in terms of investment in their athletes, going on circuits and training in China and things of that nature,” said Munroe.
He said Guyana, though making progress, are still playing the catch up game, adding, ‘They’re very good at the Caribbean level but this involves Central America, but we will hold our own, but it depends on the seeding we get and how they apply themselves.’
The ladies qualified for the event by virtue of their performance in the 2013 Caribbean Championships and world ranking and they are among the best 12 teams in the CAC.
The average age of the team is 20. The youngest player is Edghill, who is already an Olympian and unfortunately for the men, financial constraints prevented them from participating in a qualification event in El Salvador.

(By Leeron Brumell)