By Akeem Greene
Olympian Chelsea Edghill and Shemar Britton partnered for the opening match of the Mixed Doubles in Table Tennis at the Pan American Games in Santiago.
Despite a valiant effort, they lost to Hector Gatica and Mabelyn Enriquez of the Independent Athletes Team (Guatemala).
The Guyanese duo went down 1-4 (8-11, 7-11, 8-11, 11-7, 8-11) on a chilly Sunday morning in Chile.
Guatemalan athletes are playing as independent as their National Olympic Council was suspended by the International Olympic Committee during the games and was therefore not allowed to compete under its flag.
On paper, Britton and Edghill would have entered the match as favourites as they were ranked 11th as compared to the Guatemalans at 17th.
However, a sedate start meant the opposition seized the early advantage, and though as the match progressed, the Guyanese improved in play, Enriquez and Gatica found their way out of trouble.
A key point in swaying the match was Guyana only won 18 points on the opposition’s serve as compared to the Guatemalans’ 23 points.
Narrow margins of error proved to be significant in the outcome.
Speaking to News Room Sport, both athletes expressed disappointment of not winning the match and highlighted that they are now walking away with slumped shoulders since there are some positives to lean on as they head into the Singles.
Table Tennis, Athletics, Archery and Esport, will be the remaining disciplines Guyana will contest at the Games that are a gateway to Olympic Qualification.
Boxing, Badminton, Taekwondo, Swimming, and Weightlifting were the other events Guyanese contested at these Games.
Events for Team Guyana on Monday (October 30)
Table Tennis
- Chelsea Edghill – Women’s Singles – from 10:50h
- Shemar Britton – Men’s Singles – from 11:40h
Track and Field
- Aaliyah Abrams – Women’s 400m semi-finals from 17:50h
- Emanuel Archibald – Men’s 100m semi-finals from 18:35h
- Jasmine Abrams, Keliza Smith – Women’s 100m semi-finals from 19:05h
