ACCORDING to the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), there is now hope and belief that 2021 can be a success for table tennis. This is because they now know how to make events a reality, even during a pandemic period. Every ITTF event on the 2020 calendar that was slated for March or later was postponed due to the pandemic. After the calendar postponement, the ITTF met in December to discuss the 2020 year and charter a way back for table tennis in 2021. They then released their 2021 calendar of events which sees at least 2 tournaments per month, except for January and December which have none.

First event on the list is the World Table Tennis Middle East Hub in Qatar, which is slated to begin February. Following that is the Caribbean Senior Championships billed for March 3-8 in Havana, Cuba. Immediately after, the Caribbean Teams Qualification to Cali 2021 Pan American Junior Games begins on March 9 and runs until March 11. This will also take place in Cuba. However, it is important to note that the ITTF calendar is subject to change, due to the pandemic forcing new parameters.

On Saturday, Cuban authorities said they will tighten measures against the spread of COVID-19, requiring tourists and others who visit the island to isolate at their own expense for several days until tests for the new coronavirus come out negative. As seen recently with many international events from other sporting disciplines, the event is immediately postponed due to the spike in coronavirus cases in the host country. This move has been welcomed in several cases due to the fact that preparatory stages were not satisfactory for the attending constituents.

Meanwhile, some countries are returning to their regular training schedules and have released guidelines for resumption while others are uncertain of recommencement, which is mentally draining for the players. Guyana is one of the countries that have restarted training activities at both junior and senior levels. In December, the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) was granted approval to resume light training. However, time may be against them to display a level of competitiveness to rival other countries in the International event. Their competition phase is soon to return.