Table Tennis players will have a busy end to the month of January as the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) in collaboration with the National Sports Commission (NSC) and some key sponsors will stage the 2020 edition of the National Seniors, along with Juniors and Cadet Table Tennis championships.
The Senior championships are dated for January 17-19 and the Juniors from January 24-26. Both will be staged at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, Homestretch Avenue.
The Senior Championships will engage senior men and women would have an Under-21 Men and Women and B and C Class component, while the Junior and Cadet Championships have players in the 18 and 15 years of age category with a Novices component.
The National championship is the premier domestic tournament and is used for and serves as a key component for establishing ranking and selection system among other benefits.
With the continental qualification event for the Olympic Games scheduled April 15-19, possibly in Puerto Rico or a country to be shortly decided, many of the regional and international calendar events scheduled activities have been advanced.
This will see the Caribbean Junior and Cadet championships, scheduled for March, and the Caribbean Senior Championships, scheduled for April 2-8 in Cuba. The latter is being used for as the qualification event for the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships in Houston, Texas, and the Continental Olympic qualification.
Senior National Championships
The senior edition of the Men’s category offers up a treat for table tennis fans and enthusiasts, given the competitiveness of the current line-up of Men’s players.
This division will see current national champion and Caribbean Men’s Singles bronze medallist, Christopher Franklin, facing the likes of a surging 2018 Caribbean Under-21 champion Shemar Britton.
Former national champion Nigel Bryan, Joel Alleyne, Elishaba Johnson, Miguel Wong, veteran Colin France, Orin Hickerson, Jonathan Sankar and Edinho Lewis along with the young brigade would be making their claim to the throne.
Current national Women’s champion Natalie Cummings, in the absence of Chelsea Edghill and Trenace Lowe, would face challenge from Jody-Ann Blake, Priscilla Greaves, Neveah Clarkston, Thuraia Thomas, Nhecki McCrae Crystal Melville Abigail Martin and Jasmine Billingy among others.
In the B Class, Warren Hacksaw, Devon Richmond, Levi Percival, Remy Taitt, Xen Goliath, Krystian Sahadeo, Maurice Cummings, Shavin Greene, Raynor Anderson, Isaiah Layne and Jonathan VanLange are vying for top honours.
National Junior and Cadet Championships
VanLange, who is the current national Junior Boys Champion, will lead the charge.
Jamal Nicholas, Isaiah Layne, Colin Wong, Kaysan Ninvalle, Yeudistir Persaud, Terrence Rausch, Krystian Sahadeo, Dhanesh Persaud, Peter Persaud, Curtis McCrae, Ajay Persaud, Uriel Isadore, Kyle Chung, Ebo McNeil, Malachi Moore, Andell Austin, Narren Persaud, Salim Rahim, Percival Jaswan, Seenarine Rhys Belle, Adrian Melville, Tyler Orderson, Christopher Barrow and Joshua Lucas among others will be making their claim to the throne.
In the Girls category, current national Under-18 champion Thuraia Thomas will be hard-pressed against the likes of Neveah Clarkston, Crystal Melville, Abigail Martin, Jasmine Billingy, Akira Watson, Samara Sukhai and new talents Lisana Ramscindo, Sufah Burrowes, Samirah Burrowes, Alana Gouveia and Upha Hackett Isasha.
With a great nucleus of young immensely talented players with lots of potential currently emerging and playing the sport in the respective categories, it makes for a competitive championships filled with key rivalries and excitement.
