Britton & Edghill: the future of table tennis in Guyana

The future of table tennis continues to shine brightly, as two of Guyana’s most promising players have now asserted themselves as the Under-21 Caribbean champions.

Chelsea Edghill and Shemar Britton, who were part of the Guyanese male and female teams that copped silver medals just the day before, exceeded all expectations and played an unblemished round of games to continue advancing throughout the competition.
Playing at the National Arena in Kingston, Jamaica, the twenty-year-old Britton overcame Kwanini Willoughby of Jamaica 3-2, Christian Malave of Puerto Rico 3-1, and Arun Roopnarine Trinidad and Tobago in order to move out of the group stage to the quarterfinal.
In the quarterfinals, Britton played even better, defeating Puerto Rico’s Axel Torres 3-2 to book his semifinal place. There he was matched with Adjit Tebas of the Dominican Republic, getting the better of this player by three sets to one.

Being so close to the gold, Britton was resilient and determined to bring it home. The final saw him coming up against defensive maestro Tyrese Knights of Barbados. Although the matchup was close at some intervals, Britton proved he was the better of the two with a superb showing of skill with the racquet. He won 3-2 to end on top of the podium.
Over in the Women’s Under-21 games, Chelsea Edghill represented Guyana bravely with one goal on her mind, gold. From the inception, the young woman showed that she was the competitor to beat, winning all her group matches. She defeated Alondra Rodriguez of Puerto Rico 3-1, Kelsey Davidson of Jamaica 3-0, and Brittany Joseph of Trinidad and Tobago on the trot to advance to the round of 16. In that round, Edghill was given a bye to move on to the quarterfinal. There, it was a usual day at the office for Edghill, as she staged a 3-0 win over Dominican Republic’s Dahyana Rojas. The semifinal against Yasaris Ortiz of the Dominican Republic was no different for her, as again she won 3-0.
The final saw her being paired with Brittany Joseph of Trinidad and Tobago once again, and in a repeat of her group match, Edghill emerged victorious, this time with the gold.
For both athletes, the win has been surreal, and ‘a long time coming’.

Edghill, in a heartfelt message to all her supporters, stated, “Seven years ago, I played my first senior championships, and it was always a goal of mine to win yet another singles title. Goal accomplished!”
The young woman went on to express her gratitude to God, her parents, coaches and teammates who have stuck by her side. “I’m humbled by this accomplishment, and I must thank everyone who supported my efforts throughout the years,” she noted.
In an invited comment to Guyana Times Sport, Britton shared about her journey to the gold. “The preparation for this win really was a continuous process over the years, just putting in the hard work and hours with my coaches Idi Lewis, Sydney Christophe and Christopher Franklin.
“To finally attain the gold, what it means to me I just can’t put that into words as yet. It’s one of the proudest moments of my life to bring back a gold medal to my homeland Guyana; it means the world to me,” Britton stated.
Looking ahead, the young man is resolute in his desire to compete for Guyana on a much larger stage. “For the more distant future, I’d like to qualify for the Pan American Games next year, and then go on to qualify for the Olympic Games”, he disclosed.
One thing both these winning athletes have in common is their hunger for more medals at the 60th Caribbean Table Tennis Federation (CTTF) Senior Championships. They will join their other Guyanese counterparts in their quest for the Senior Men’s and Women’s Singles titles, competition for which will begin today.
In other medals for the country, both Men’s and Women’s teams copped silver earlier this week, whilst Christopher Franklin and Trenace Lowe have also attained silver in the mixed doubles. Both women’s doubles teams copped bronze.