Former junior national table tennis player Miguel Wong who is currently in Germany is not allowing the ongoing global pandemic to thwart his table tennis aspirations.
As a matter of fact, his coach Thomas Wetzel has been facilitating his transition on the European circuit and has already secured an offer for him to play in Austria. The 19-year-old departed Guyana during the latter part of 2019 for a three-month training camp in Berlin, Germany.
He was due to return in December, however, scouts laid eyes on his craft and the young man was given the opportunity to stay on to further enhance his game at the Topspin Sports Centre in Bad Aibling, Germany.
He was also scheduled to compete in a number of league matches this year but those opportunities were curtailed by the ongoing global pandemic and at one point, he was confined to the center with his other colleagues.
Nevertheless, he is still in high spirits and eager to advance his career.
“I’m not too sure when I’ll be back in Guyana because of the border issue but when the border is open I’ll have to come back for a short stay them I’ll be back in Germany for the next season to play in the league,” Wong told Stabroek Sport. Wong said he is excited to return to these shores to match up against Guyana’s top players in Christopher Franklin and the reigning national champion and Guyana’s number two Shemar Britton, however, he reiterated that his main focus at this point is really to exhaust his options at a professional athlete.
“If they’re tournaments I’m eager to play but I’m not trying to return and stay there [Guyana], the goal is to return to Germany to play in the league because that’s my focus.”
While the Titans Table Tennis Club player is keen to remain focused on soaking up the opportunities that are before him, he did confess that the current pandemic has been a little bit frustrating.
“The pandemic is causing a little bit of frustration but the center is open and the coaches are running a summer camp so we’re getting to play a few games among ourselves and few players from other countries who are coming over.”
Wong said the exposure to date has helped him to become physically stronger, improving his footwork, shot quality and tactical capacity among other areas.
