Former Caribbean men’s singles table tennis champion George `The Chief’ Braithwaite died yesterday in the United States of America (USA).
Braithwaite, 86, who was born in Guyana, migrated to the USA where he was granted citizenship in 1971.
Although he was an athlete early on winning 100m races regionally, table tennis was the sport he loved.
“There is nobody I know that loved table tennis like him,” former seven-time national table tennis men’s singles champion and journalist Mike Baptiste told Stabroek Sports last night in an invited comment.
Former Caribbean men’s singles champion Sydney Christophe, recalls Braithwaite returning home in 1988 to participate at the annual Caribbean TT championships held at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
According to Christophe, Braithwaite reached the semi-finals by upsetting Raoul Bettancourt of Cuba before losing to Jamaica’s Garfield Jones in the semis.
Christophe also participated at that championships reaching the quarter finals before losing to eventual winner Colin Morgan, a Jamaican who was playing in England at the time but was brought back by the Jamaica Table Tennis Association.
“Rest in peace “Chief”. Sincere condolences to his relatives,” wrote the 1992 Caribbean men’s singles champion Christophe whose brother Mike and Andrew Gorsira were all team mates of Braithwaite.
Although Guyana has a rich history participating at the annual Caribbean table tennis championships, Braithwaite, is one of the few persons to win the coveted and prestigious men’s singles crown.
He won the men’s singles title in 1979 defeating Barbadian Robert Earle in the final. He also reached the final of the men’s doubles with Trevor Low but they lost to a Mexican pair in the final.
As news of Braithwaite’s death spread condolences poured in from among others Orville Haslam, the great table tennis player of the 1960s who won the Caribbean men’s singles titles from 1967-1971 before Caetano won it in 1972.
The St Vincent and the Grenadines and the Barbados Table Tennis Associations also sent condolences referring to him as a Caribbean icon.
“On behalf of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Table Tennis Association, I would like to take this opportunity to express deepest condolences to the family and friends of the late Sir George Braithwaite friend and sports enthusiast. George, you have been a Caribbean icon. We will miss you my friend, much respect. May you rest in peace.
Dale Rudder, president of the BTTA wrote: “On behalf of the Barbados Table Tennis Association, I would like to convey deepest condolences to the family of the late great George Braithwaite. The Caribbean table tennis fraternity has lost one of its icons. May he rest in peace.”
Braithwaite list of accomplishments is long.
He not only represented the USA at table tennis but he was a vice president of the United States of America Table Tennis Association (USATT) and was inducted into the USA Hall of Fame in 1989.
He was also an original member of the USA Ping Pong Diplomacy team that visited China in 1971 and met with Chinese premier Zhou Enlai.
Stabroek Sports extends condolences to the family of the late George `The Chief’ Braithwaite.
