The national mini and pre cadet table tennis teams are currently involved in intense training as part of their preparations for the Caribbean Mini/Pre Cadet Table Tennis Tournament slated for Jamaica later this month.
At the National Gymnasium on Friday, the teams were involved in several exercises to improve certain facets of their game, especially the mental, tactical and technical aspects.
Guyana will be sending three teams instead of the required four to this year’s event. Those teams are mini cadet boys under-11, pre-cadet boys under-13 and pre-cadets boys under-14. According to national coach Linden Johnson, the mini cadet girls’ team is still in the development stage and due to this, the association does not want to field a team.
Linden Johnson
The following are the lists of the three squads:
Under-11 boys – Colin Wong , Alex De Abreau, Dhanesh Persaud and Khristian Sahadeo.
Under-13 boys – Kaysan Ninvalle, Niran Bissu, Isaiah Layne and Kishawn Deo.
Under-13 girls – Neveah Clarkson, Abigale Martin and Thuraia Thomas.
The tournament which is held annually in the Caribbean, was last held in Guyana in 2013 where the host finished second behind Trinidad and Tobago. However, due to structural issues, the tournament saw a two-year hiatus.
Prior to the Guyana leg of the tournament, the Guyanese were outstanding in Jamaica, where the tournament will be hosted this year. During that tournament, Guyana won several individual and team accolades. They were victorious in the girls’ doubles, the mixed doubles and the boys’ doubles while finishing as runners up in the boys and girls pre-cadet singles.
Meanwhile the U-13 team which comprised Kyle Edghill, Elishaba Johnson, Ravesh Muneshwar and Miguel Wong won team gold. That tournament concluded with the mini-cadets winning several individual and team prices.
Due to Guyana’s consistent performance in previous tournaments, especially in Jamaica, Johnson believes his team will execute quality display in the August 22-27 tournament. Not just the successful trend give the coach hope but also the talented players present in the teams provide optimism of their performance.
The three teams practice daily at the National Gymnasium from 08:30h to 10:00h then from 14:00h to 16:00h. They are scheduled to depart on August 21 and return on August 28.
