A locked locker at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, which acts as a storage compartment for the balls to be used by Chinese table tennis coach Cheng Jian Hua has hampered the visiting coach from carrying on his daily sessions.
Stabrooek Sport understands that the locker is controlled by coach attached to the Department of Sport, Linden Johnson, who is in Cartegena, Colombia with three members of the national junior table tennis team who are competing at the Latin American Table Tennis junior championships.
According to reports, Johnson left the key for the locker with a player who subsequently misplaced the key.
Sources told Stabroek Sport that the supervisor of the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall refused to allow the locker to be broken in order for the players to have access to the balls and there have been no sessions at the venue since Johnson left Guyana last week.
Yesterday, the Chinese coach and the interpreter who are on a one year attachment to Guyana through this country’s excellent diplomatic relations with China, were at the venue but were unable to carry on sessions even though a number of players turned up for training.
They evenutually left.
Treasurer of the GTTA, Joel Wilburg, last evening told Stabroek Sport that it was only yesterday he learnt of the development.
Wilburg said he paid a visit to the venue last evening and located a spare key with which he was able to open the locker.
According to Wilburg, the sessions are expected to resume as soon as he irons out the situation with the Chinese coach.
Johnson is not expected back in Guyana until later this month.
He will remain with two of the players Michelle John and Trenace Lowe for a specially arranged training camp following the completion of the tournament.