… to become first Guyanese table tennis player at Olympics

CHELSEA Edghill will get to live her childhood dreams of representing Guyana at the Olympics, after it was announced on Thursday evening that she will receive an International Table Tennis Federation ‘Wild Card’ spot for the games in Tokyo, Japan.
“The feeling is unreal,” Edghill told Chronicle Sport in an exclusive interview yesterday.
“I didn’t expect to get a wild card to go. I was elated and I was shocked to know that I was given the spot to play at the Olympics. It has been a dream ever since I started playing to make it to the very top. I think this goes to show that with hard work, you’ll get your reward in the very end,” Edghill said.
The 2018 Caribbean U-21 Champion who also holds a BSc in Chemistry, having graduated in 2019 from Lindenwood University in the USA, plays professionally in Portugal with Lusitania de Lourosa; a table tennis club located in the city of Lourosa in Santa Maria da Feira.

When Edghill features at the 32nd Olympiad, she will become the first table tennis player, male or female, from Guyana and Lusitania de Lourosa to reach the Olympic Games.
“To know that you’ve created history by being the first of so many things!” Edghill profoundly stated, adding, “My team in Portugal they’re new in terms of the first division aspect of things and to be the first to do so it’s a proud moment. It just goes to show how much the sacrifices paid off over the years.”
Asked about being under pressure to live up to the expectations as an Olympian, Edghill said, “Over the years, I’ve been playing and doing everything as I said before, with the help of my parents and I don’t feel any pressure to perform. Yes, they’re going to be a lot more eyes on me to get results and a good performance; I will just go out there and do my best.”
Meanwhile, the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) called Edghill’s Olympic journey a “great achievement for Guyana as a table tennis nation and fraternity we are truly elated of the ITTF and IOC recognition of our player’s talent and country programmes in selecting Chelsea.”

The GTTA said universality position is generally geared towards allowing the opportunity to National Olympic Committees, which have traditionally sent small delegations to the Olympic Games, and is used as a basis to enhance and reflect universality of the Olympic Games by selecting athletes from countries which have not been able to qualify, so that they may have an opportunity to be invited to compete in sports and disciplines for which Invitation Places have been reserved.
In the realm of table tennis, Edghill’s performance in international competition attempts at qualification tournament wins; Pan American games qualification ability and potential of the athlete among other areas, played a critical role in her selection of the Universality spots.
Edghill is a former ITTF With the Future in Mind Scholarship awardee and a former Junior Olympian (Nanjing, China 2014).
The GTTA said, “This is a win for Guyana and regional table tennis and is a testimony to the talent, hard work, determination of Chelsea built on the sacrifices of our players officials and all our stakeholders of the past.” The Godfrey Munroe-led Table Tennis Association expressed its gratitude to all who have contributed and to the members who continue to work hard and play despite the challenges.