CARIBBEAN Cadet champion Kaysan Ninvalle and 2017 ITTF Caribbean World Hopes qualifier selectee Krystian Sahadeo will lead a squad of 18 players, selected by the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) in preparation for the 2018 Caribbean Pre-Cadet Table Tennis Championships scheduled for this July in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

According to a press release from the Association, the squad is being put together to better fortify Guyana’s chances and effectively plan Guyana’s participation and representation.

Ninvalle and Sahadeo are in the Boys’ 13-and-under category which also includes Jonathan van Lange. The Girls’ 13-and-under category includes Nkechi McCrae, 2016 Caribbean bronze medallist Thuraia Thomas, Tatyanna Mohamed and Roseanna Sanders.

The Boys’ 11 years-and-under category includes the talented Dhanesh Persaud, Colin Wong on the Boys’ side where they are joined by Malachi Moore, Ebo McNeil, Chase Outar, Jonathan Cox, Alexander DeAbreu.

The Girls’ 11-and-under category includes new and emerging talents – Jasmine Bilingi, Akera Watson, Quanna Torrington, and Samara Sukhai.

The Caribbean Pre-Cadet Table Tennis is a signature tournament on the GTTA calendar of activities since it forms the incubator and debut for development of young regional table tennis players.

The best 2 Caribbean 13 years-and-under and 11 years-and-under boys and girls from the Championships will be selected to participate in the Latin American World Hopes training programme and competition set for later this year.

This would allow the players, if selected, to benefit from international training and exposure, and if further selected as part of the Latin Hopes team, the players will be given training exposure and equipment as an induction to the ITTF development programme, ITTF Hopes programme; and the ITTF Rough Diamond with the Future in Mind.

Kaysan Ninvalle secured selection for Hopes training camp in 2016, where he won bronze in the Latin America qualification and training event. Krstian Sahadeo also received qualification when he emerged second at the ITTF Hopes Caribbean training and qualification event in Jamaica last year. However, he was unable to attend the event due to visa constraints with Paraguay.

The GTTA has commenced the implementation of its national table tennis for schools programme which is part of its plan to synchronise with the ITTF Hopes programmes.

The executive committee will be meeting with the parents, coaches and stakeholders to map out its plans for the teams’ engagement at the championships.