PAUL CLARKE, STAR Writer
Western Bureau

Top-flight table tennis action returns to Montego Bay tomorrow, with the first staging of the Jamaica Winter Table Tennis Championships. The competition starts at 10 a.m. at Montego Bay Community College.

Robert Hyatt, president of the organising committee said the event is geared towards the revitalisation of table tennis in the west, which, at one point, was the hotbed for the sport locally, producing some of the best known players the sport has ever seen.

Making the event a top-rated one means having big time stars taking part, and with the addition of the highly regarded Damien Provost of France, Emile Santos, the Caribbean number-one player and the US-based Chinese Bin Hai Chu down to participate, it gives the championship recognition on the international stage.

Also scheduled to participate are Jamaica's male champion Kane Watson and Michael Hyatt, while multiple female champion Yvonne Foster leads the way for the women, along with Shanique Clair.

The championship also has a little Caribbean flavour with the Guyana national table tennis team due to arrive later this week, with action in the men's and Women's singles, doubles, over-40 open singles, Under-21 singles for both men and women and recreational open singles, among others.

The Guyanese are led by Nigel Bryan and Paul David, with Trenece Lowe, the top female player also appearing.

"Provost is one of the best at the sport, and so too is Santos who is the best in the region. They will be among a host of other top-rated table tennis players who are ready to share their experience with us," Hyatt noted.

He said he hopes the roughly 200 children who will be present will take as much as they can from the championship to aid their development in the sport.

"It cannot be lost on anyone that table tennis was a hugely popular sport in the west at one time, particularly in Trelawny," Hyatt said.