By Akeem Greene
President of the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) Godfrey Munroe is of the firm opinion that to help develop the sport, the relevant stakeholders must seek to capitalise on their diplomatic ties in an effort to give players the opportunity to garner more international exposure.
“It is using diplomatic relationships with key countries and we are working with Director of Sport [Christopher Jones] in this regard in getting good relations with China.” Munroe stated in an interview with Guyana Times International Sport.
His comments stems from Guyana hosting the 22nd Caribbean Region Table Tennis Federation (CRTTF) Cadet & Junior Championship at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, where Dominican Republic were the most dominant team in both the under-15s and 18s categories, winning 12 gold, four silver and eight bronze medals while the host won three silver and seven bronze medals.
Munroe explained that the Dominican Republic team have a mentorship programme with China, whereby during the summer, two pre-cadet, cadet and senior players would go to China and train, while a Chinese player/coach would visit the country to help develop their structure, an ambition that the president endeavours for Guyana.
In addition to Guyana strengthening their bi-lateral ties, Munroe contended that there is a need for more support from the corporate sector, increase in domestic tournaments, strengthening their school programme and increasing the amount of certified coaches.
Last year when the championships were held in the Dominican Republic, Guyana won four medals (1, gold, 1 silver & 2 bronze) with the five-member (Shemar Britton, Elishaba Johnson, Kyle Edghill and Nicholas Romain and Miguel) that they fielded.
Commenting on this year’s results, Munroe felt it allowed the association to get a gauge as to where the sport is currently.
Commendably, the competition was at a high standard but Munroe critically assessed the need the examination of the players’ mental strength and physical conditioning.
