Edghill, Franklin to lead national Table Tennis team to Senior Caribbean Championship

The Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) has shortlisted seven players for the Senior Caribbean Table Tennis Championship slated for March 1-9 in Cuba.

Among those set to represent Guyana at the Championship are Olympian Chelsea Edghill and four-time national Men’s champion, Christopher Franklin.

The other members of the team are Shemar Britton, Jonathan Van Lange, Miguel Wong, Natalie Cummings, and Priscilla Greaves, while there is a consideration for 11-year-old prodigy Jasmine Billingy, providing GTTA acquires the necessary funding.

They are expected to be accompanied by a Coach and Manager.

It is understood overseas-based Trenace Lowe is in training and potentially could be on the team, which has to be confirmed by February 28.

Prior to the National Championship, which concluded last weekend, GTTA President Godfrey Munroe indicated national team selection hinges on performances at ‘nationals.’

Furthermore, the players have commenced training and Munroe said eight countries have confirmed for the Men’s category and seven for the Women’s, and he is keen on Guyana attending.

According to Munroe, while the Commonwealth Games Federation has a desire to use rankings from pre-pandemic as the yardstick for selection, the Caribbean Championship could take precedence.

Typically, for the Commonwealth Games, three Men’s teams and four female teams from the Caribbean get selected, and this is why Munroe feels it is very important Guyana attends the Championship.

The former national player felt Guyana has a strong chance of medalling at the event, noting that while the Singles could be difficult, the team events could bring medals.

The last Senior Caribbean Championship was held in Guyana in 2019, and the hosts finished second to the Dominican Republic.

Guyana secured 10 medals, gaining a medal in each event except the female Under-21 Singles.

This year, the Senior Championship will have no Under-21 category, owing to COVID-19 restrictions and the raising of the Under-18 to Under-19 age group.