Commonwealth Games a step above the rest for Greaves

– talented player plotting course to professional circuit
By Akeem Greene
Eighteen-year-old table tennis player Priscilla Greaves got a rude but gainful awakening to senior international competition when she competed in the recent Commonwealth Games in Australia.

In an interview with Guyana Times Sport at her home on Wednesday, the young prodigy revealed competing at the 21st edition of the Games held on the Gold Coast allowed her to fully grasp the true reality of being in the ‘lion’s den’.
“Playing in the Caribbean, I always felt you could do good, you could have a solid space, but now when you go out in the bigger world of tennis, it is like wow, it’s even hard to make it out of your group.”

She added, “Now you have to train harder and keeping training and try to train abroad, because Guyana does not have the training we need to get to get to a further level; that is why I try to go abroad to improve myself.”
Greaves was a part of the winning end of the indifferent showing by the national racket-wielders; in partnering with another budding star, Shemar Britton, she moved out of the round of 64 of the mixed doubles as they defeated Vanuatu 3-0, but stumbled in the next round to Singapore.
For the former Marian Academy student, who is currently studying for the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) at Nations University, hard work extends to both on and off the field as she ensures there is life after what she hopes to be a prolonged professional career.
“Academics are very important. In case, you get an injury you can always turn to academics. It is really hard to balance the two, but you have to put a lot of work in both studies and table tennis,” she noted.

Golden inspiration

Olympian Troy Doris’s leap to a momentous gold for Guyana in the triple jump sent shock waves of congratulatory messages to the United States-based athlete, including Greaves’.
“I really wanted him to win. I was there at the stadium, but I was watching and cheering him on. To see one Guyanese do it by going past all the odds and get a gold, it means that every other Guyanese can do it; once they work hard enough, they will be able to do the same,” she posited.
Her work has just begun as she plots a course into the college realm and a professional career. But for those illustrious goals to occur, it would mean Greaves has to be given the necessary exposure on a consistent basis.
Last July, she went to China for a training stint, but only could stay for three weeks owing to financial constraints. Greaves, who is appreciative of sponsors such as Hand-in-Hand, which played a substantial role in her trip to Asia, firmly believes with more support for exposure to high-level training, she can become a force to reckon with worldwide.
Supporting the young star, who is bursting with overwhelming talent, could mean investing in stardom on the world stage for the former Caribbean bronze medallist.