A Jamaican table tennis team is scheduled to leave the island today to participate in the 2021 International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Pan American Youth Championships to be held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

The tournament comprises teams from the Caribbean region and Latin American countries and is scheduled to begin tomorrow.

The players set to depart the island are Solesha Young, Kelsey Davidson, Rasheed Clarke, and Tsenaye Lewis.

Young, the 2021 women’s singles champion at the recent National and Junior Table Tennis Championships, is expected to lead Jamaica’s charge in the team event.

The other member of the girls’ Under-19 team is Davidson, while Clarke is the lone male player in the Under-19, while Lewis will also be Jamaica’s lone representative in the girls’ 15 and under competition.

The girls’ Under-19 doubles will be Young and Lewis or Davidson, while Clarke and Young will partner each other for the Under-19 mixed doubles.

Accompanying the team are Coach Sandra Riettie and manager, Sean Wallace.

Finalists in all the events will qualify for the ITTF World Youth Table Tennis Championships slated to be held in Portugal from December 2 to 6, 2021.

Andrew Lue, president of the Jamaica Table Tennis Association (JTTA), said he expects the players to do well.

“The competitions will be very stiff as there are some very good players from the other countries who will be competing. However, I expected the Jamaicans to give a good account of themselves,” Lue said.

Other participating countries are the United States of America (USA), Mexico, Brazil, Guatemala, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Colombia, Canada, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and host country the Dominican Republic.

The Jamaica contingent will return to the island on Monday, September 20, 2021.

— Gerald Reid