Grenada’s junior table tennis champion Cedric Marquez showed exceptional valour, as he made his international debut competing at the augural Junior Pan American Games in Cali, Colombia.
Though having his world turned upside down with the passing of his dad Dave Marquez only weeks before his travel, Marquez, a student at the St Rose Modern Secondary School in Gouyave, St John, showed great courage during his qualifying round of competition.
On Tuesday, 30 November 2021 Marquez faced off against Colombia’s Santiago Montes Solarte, but was beaten in 4 straight sets. Coach Jason Stanislaus, who accompanied Marquez to the games, said he did his best amidst many challenges, showing resilience throughout the match.
The Grenada Table Tennis Association (GTTA) is extremely proud of Marquez and commended him for his spirited performance. The GTTA encouraged the 15-year-old to continue to work passionately to improve his capacity in all areas of the game.
President of the GTTA, Dr Alister Antoine, said Marquez saw some of the best players in the Pan American region in action which should serve as a great learning experience for his future development.
Meanwhile, here at home, the GTTA will stage its Annual National Championship sponsored by Excel Plaza starting on Monday, 6 December in Gouyave. Matches will be played in the Under-11, Under-13 and Under-15 categories. The tournament serves off at 4 pm at the old St Peter’s School.
The Boys and Girls Under-18 and the Men and Women’s singles will be played on Saturday, 11 December at the Public Workers Union (PWU) Building in Tanteen. The matches will be played up to the semifinals round. The semifinals and finals in these events will then be contested on Wednesday, 15 December at PWU.
The Men’s 55 years and Over Veterans Singles will take place on Monday, 13 December and the finals played on Wednesday, 15 December at PWU.
This year’s National Championship is reduced to individual events because of the Covid-19 pandemic and GTTA’s limitation on the number of players that can compete.
The association hopes to stage the team events as part of Grenada’s 48th Anniversary Independence activities in 2022.
