— says qualifying for the Youth Olympic Games could prove to be the turning point of his career
The Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) has selected 16-year-old national table tennis star Miguel Wong as its prospect for possible qualification for the third Youth Olympic Games.
Wong will journey to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on Friday and attempt to serve his way into the Youth Olympic Games.
While in Santo Domingo, Wong will have to be on his `A’ game since he will be trading loops with some of the top racquet-wielders from the Latin American region.
Stabroek Sport recently caught up with Wong before he began a training session at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall where he expressed excitement at being given another opportunity to represent Guyana.
“I feel very privileged to know that I’m the only one that is going to represent the country but then again it’s only one person per county so I’m feeling really confident and hopeful that I can bring out my best game in the qualifiers,” he said.
Commenting on his chances Wong assured candidly that Guyana will be well represented.
“Yeah, my chances are very good. They are selecting two boys and the same number of girls so I know what I have to do.”
Touching on his preparation, he added, “Lately I’ve been training with the senior guys doing a lot of multi-balls while also working on my physical and tactical game with the senior guys who are also training for the upcoming Islamic Games.”
The soft-spoken Mae’s Academy student said that the opportunity and possibility of qualifying for the Youth Olympic Games would prove to be a turning point in his career.
Meanwhile, National Table Tennis Coach, Linden Johnson, said that Wong’s chances are good once his mental game complements his obvious racquet skills.
“We all know Miguel is a very talented player but it’s just that mentally he has to be a bit tougher in that regard,” Johnson said.
He added, “I do hope that he does well in the qualifications. We all know it’s players from all over Latin and South America so it will be tough. “Miguel, like I said earlier, he has the game but he has to be a bit more mentally disciplined and focused. But outside of that, he stands a great chance of qualifying and I wish him the best and we are all behind him to give him one hundred percent support.”
President of the GTTA, Godfrey Munroe, declared that the association also submitted Wong’s name to the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) to send to the International Olympic Committee for consideration as a possible prospect for Universality Allocated Place. That provision allows a possible candidate to attend the junior games even if they do not qualify.
Munroe also said that the GTTA wanted to send Nickolus Romain as another prospect whom they felt would have represented Guyana well, however they were only allowed one nominee.
There are, however, other events on the road to qualifying for the Youth Olympic Games which include participation in junior circuit events, “Road to Buenos Aires.”
The third Youth Olympic Games is scheduled for Buenos Aries Argentina in the summer of 2018.
Chelsea Edghill, another young table tennis ace, was the last Guyanese to participate in the games four years ago.