Guyana’s Chelsea Edghill made history last night in Tokyo, Japan.
Not only did she become the first Guyanese male or female table tennis racquet wielder to participate at the Olympic Games, but she also did so on a winning note.
Competing against Fiji’s Sally Yee in the preliminary draw for a chance to enter the main draw, Edghill made light work of Yee winning the match 4-1.
Edghill did not let the magnitude of the occasion get the better of her and she sped off to an 11-5 win in the opening game. However, she dropped the second game 4-11 making a few uncharacteristic errors in the process.
Coach Idi Lewis, a former Caribbean junior boy’s champion, het his charge back in the groove as Edghill rolled off the next three games winning 11-3, 11-6 and 11-8. Yee was no slouch and her short pips backhand caused a bit of problems for Edghill in the rallies but Edghill was not afraid to attack the long serves and often kept her opponent guessing with her reverse backspin serve.
Edghill moves on to the round of 32.
