Members of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Table Tennis training squad, as well as others who are showing promise, were exposed to four sessions of advanced training from head coach of the Switzerland Table Tennis, Samir Mulabdic.

The sessions were held at the auditorium of the West St George Secondary School, and according to Mulabdic, were very “intense”.

“We had practice in mental skills, physical specific skills for Table Tennis, but it was not easy for them, because it was almost three hours in a row with short breaks,” Mulabdic related.

He however noted that the players were unaccustomed to the level of intense training.

Despite this, Mulabdic, who is no stranger to St Vincent and the Grenadines, noted: “I had real fun …They (players) did good progress”.

Accepting that the lay-off because of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and in St Vincent and the Grenadines’ added predicament, the eruptions of the La Soufriere volcano in April, Mulabdic acknowledged that players were short of work.

Reflecting on his previous visit in January 2020, Mulabdic assessed, “I think many of them didn’t practice enough”.

He is hopeful that the players are motivated to put in more hours of training and practice and with the help of the local coaches, he would see an upward curve in their abilities.

Projecting another visit to St Vincent and the Grenadines in April 2022, Mulabdic is optimistic that players would be in a state of readiness for the Commonwealth Games qualifiers.

His plan is to fine-tune the team’s preparations for the qualifiers.