Billingy, Sukhai gunning for respective Caribbean titles

As the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) National Women’s Singles and Doubles Championships unfolded over the last weekend, in the absence of some seasoned campaigners, it was a teenaged duo that rose to the top of the ranks.
While Jasmine Billingy and Samara Sukhai teamed up for the women’s doubles gold; both players went on to the women’s singles final, in which Billingy eventually prevailed.

Nonetheless, the two teenagers already have their eyes on respective accolades beyond Guyanese shores.
Fifteen-year-old Billingy divulged plans for the Under-19 Caribbean title as she reflected on the weekend’s competition.
“The game plan going into it was just to do everything I learned in practice, make sure I implement everything. Samara is like a really good friend of mine, so it was, like, really tough competition, but I’m glad to be on top,” Billingy said.
She went on to disclose, “For the future, I plan to, hopefully, win the Caribbean Under-19 championships and proceed to Pan Am Cames. There’s also CAC [Central America and Caribbean Games] next year which I would like to have a spot at.”
On the other hand, the 14-year-old Sukhai has already assessed her weak points from the singles final, hoping to make her last year at the Caribbean U15 level her best yet.

Sukhai told Guyana Times Sport, “Well, first of all, I want to say congrats to Jasmine. She’s a great opponent to play against and she always challenges me. Before the tournament, I trained a lot for this. During the game, I tried my best, but coming out after the game, I know what I have to improve on, so that next tournament I can come on stronger and better and hopefully, next Nationals I could win the gold.”
“So, next year is my last year in Under-15, so my goal is to hopefully win it because it’s my last year and I’m the youngest one in the team. It’s my dream to win Caribbean Under-15 and, you know, then go to Pan Am and then one day, qualify for the Olympics,” she further shared.
She also added about the women’s doubles title, “It’s a great feeling. Jasmine and I, we’ve been playing doubles since we were little together, so we’re very comfortable playing with each other and it’s always great to win.”