NATIONAL table tennis player, Shemar Britton, a former Caribbean Under-21 gold medallist, will attend the Puerto Rico Butterfly Open from April 8 to 10 after a swell of corporate support, led by the Guyana Committee of Service (GCoS)

At a simple ceremony at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC), Bourda, yesterday, Public Relations Officer Rajan Tiwari explained that their support of the national athlete is part of their “firm mandate” to assist sportsmen and women in Guyana.

Tiwari revealed that Connection Travel Agency, Beacon Café, i-Net Communication Inc., Peter Clarke, Donna Ramkumar (Payless Variety Store), Lennox Cush, and Harry Parmesar Accounting Firm are the others who supported.

Britton was seeking US$2500 for his team, which comprised top regional counterparts, Barbadian Tyrese Knight and Trinidadian Aaron Wilson, to attend the event which will give them the opportunity to play over 20 matches per person over the three-day period.

The ultimate aim is to prepare them for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham from July 28 to August 8. Both Guyana’s male and female teams have qualified for the multi-sport event.

Britton, who recently returned from the Senior Caribbean Championships in Cuba where he was eliminated at the quarter-final stage, explained that such tournaments are key for them to perform better at international events

After that Caribbean Championship, he jumped 111 places to be now ranked number 693 in the world – the highest by a Guyanese male player, and he is looking to to go higher.
Britton departs on April 7 for the event in Puerto Rico.