Edghill, Britton return for mixed doubles

Guyana is unlikely to see representation in the singles table tennis arena at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, as the entire team missed the mark (some by a narrow margin) on their opening day at the Olympic Qualifier in Argentina.
Guyana was represented by a four-member team along with a coach at the 2021 Latin America Singles and Mixed Doubles qualifiers that kicked off Tuesday morning in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Godfrey Munroe

Shemar Britton, Joel Alleyne, Natalie Cummings, Chelsea Edghill and Coach Idi Lewis made up the Guyanas team.
Alleyne came in to replace national champion Christopher Franklin, who chose not to travel.
According to Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) president Godfrey Munroe, the task of getting the team to Argentina in the midst of a coronavirus outbreak was a tough one.
I can say this has really been a daunting task to get the team there, and the cost factors have tripled, quadrupled now, given the protocols for COVID. As you know, Argentina had a spike recently (in cases), so visa requirements and regulations were tightened, the GTTA president shared prior to the team’s departure.
He added: At one point we weren’t sure if this qualifying event would take place, but we were assured by the local organizing committee, which is made up of the Argentine Federation and the Olympic Committee, that they are working with the government to ensure it happens ).
The racket action started on Tuesday morning with the men’s singles competition, in which Joel Alleyne went 4 sets to zero at the hands of Chiles Gustavo Gomez: 11-6, 11-5, 11-8, 11-2.
Although he missed, Shemar Britton had a better show, losing 4-2 to Paraguays Alejandro Toranzos. Their sets were 11-5, 8-11, 11-2, 8-11, 11-3, 11-3.
Munroe had said he believed Chelsea Edghill, who trains professionally, had the best chances in qualifying. I think Chelsea has a good chance of qualifying. She’s a recent qualifier for the Pan American Games, and the next step is the Olympics. Some of the players she defeated to qualify for the Pan Am games will be in attendance, hoping that her experience from Portugal playing professionally would help her, Munroe had said.

Guyanas table tennis team prior to the start of the action in the Olympic qualifiers

However, on Tuesday evening, Edghill narrowly missed the goal in a ten-set game against Mexicos Monica Munoz. Munoz took the first two sets 11-5, 118, but Edghill bounced back to command the next two sets 11-9, 11-4. Munoz and Edghill then each won a set with 11-6, 8-11 respectively. It all came down to the final set, in which Edghill fought relentlessly but lost 9-11.
Natalie Cummings’ fortunes were comparable to those of her teammates; she lost 4-0 to the Guatemalan Lucia Cordero. Their sets were 11-9, 11-6, 11-7, 11-8.
However, Chelsea Edghill and Shemar Britton will join forces on Saturday April 17 to face Ecuador’s Alberto Mino and Nathaly Paredes in the mixed doubles division.
The Latin American qualifier offered four Olympic places in men’s singles in a field of 24 participants, while 3 places were offered for the ladies, who had 21 players. There is one more Olympic spot up for grabs in the mixed doubles arena, in which 13 pairs will compete.

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