On the heels of obtaining bachelor’s degrees in law and in political science simultaneously, both with first class honours, former Caribbean table tennis champion and national player Shemar Britton, 25, has qualified to play in the 2023 Pan American Games to be held in Chile in October based on his performance at the just-concluded Central American Games (CAC) held in El Salvador.
Britton, who has become the first male Guyanese to qualify to compete in table tennis at the Pan American Games, is an advocate and an example that sports and academics can go together. The Pan American Games is also the qualifier for the 2024 Olympics which will be held next year.
“I hope I can be an inspiration to someone who may want to choose academics over sports or vice versa. You don’t have to choose one or the other, you can do both. It is just about time management and sacrifice. A lot of children stop playing a sport because of common entrance or CXC [Caribbean Examinations Council] examinations. I never stopped,” Britton told Stabroek Weekend.