Jonathan Van Lange for high-performance training camp ahead of Junior Pan American Games

The Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) and the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) have served support for table tennis ace Jonathan Van Lange’s intensification of final preparation for the Junior Pan American Games in Cali, Colombia with the 1st Junior Pan American Games.

With the inaugural Junior Pan American Games two weeks from commencement, national junior champion and talented Table tennis ace Jonathan Van Lange will depart Guyana this evening for the Samson Dubina Table Tennis Academy in Akron, Ohio USA to begin intensification of his final preparation for his participation at the 1st Junior Pan American Games, scheduled from 25th November to 5th December 2021.
His participation at the camp is being made possible through the support of the Guyana Olympic Association and Guyana Table Tennis Association.
The Samson Dubina Table Tennis Academy is a high-yield table tennis training facility which offers great variety of players, well qualified coaches, is widely recognised as a major hub for elite and developmental players, and has a wide variety of players.
Van Lange, who gained a wild card spot based on representation by the GTTA and Guyana Olympic Association – which gained the ITTF-America confederation members’ support, will play in doubles and singles competition at the games.
Over the last six weeks, Jonathan played and trained under the guidance of GTTA President Godfrey Munroe and Coach Idi Lewis, and had the benefit of senior players, national champion Christopher Franklin, Shemar Britton and Joel Alleyne, who worked with him in preparation for the major competition.
The training camp come on the GTTA-stated position that, with support from the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA), Jonathan Van Lange can be sent to a high-performance camp ahead of the inaugural Junior Pan-American Games in Cali, Colombia.
The GOA support was sought to provide intensification of his final preparation, and the Executive Committee unanimously agreed to assist the 14-year-old in his quest for excellence.
The thought was that we needed Jonathan in a competitive environment with new players, to sharpen his awareness, provide high-quality match play, while training and adjusting to new players and a new environment, which would help to build his psyche, given that he wasn’t able to play any major competition over the last 18 months.
His training at the Samson Dubina Academy will commence from Monday and conclude on the 27th November, after which he would depart for Colombia for table tennis competition as the Junior Pan American Games commence on 30th November and conclude on 5th December 2021.
Mr Dubina, who is happy to have Jonathan as he builds a partnership with table tennis Guyana, indicated that he would pay keen attention to Jonathan’s final preparation, and has mapped out a detailed training programme which would see Jonathan benefiting from approximately five 5 hours of training daily in individualised and group training sessions, along with match practice in league play covering elements of tactical play, random and indirect footwork, serve and reception.
The Junior Pan Am Games will start on November 25, but table tennis players are allowed to enter the games only from November 27, with the discipline going into competition mode from November 30th.
An exceptional talent who has great prospects for regional and international success if given the correct support and nurturing in the ideal environments for growth, Jonathan’s qualification for participation at this event provides a great platform for him to register and commence his quest for qualification at the Junior Olympic Games, Junior South American Games 2022, and Junior Commonwealth Games, among other Junior Olympic cycle and key international events within the junior realm, a position that he has outlined he is committed to achieving.
The opportunity to participate in these games truly places him in the spotlight of the ITTF for possible selection as an ITTF “With the Future in Mind” Player, based on his talent to age abilities.
The inaugural Junior Pan American Games are a multi-sporting event conceived by Pan Am Sport as a basis for developing and offering the next generation of athletes from the Americas the opportunity for high-level performance.