Guyana's three-member table tennis team returned from Iran after a creditable performance in the first Islamic Solidarity Table Tennis Championships from December 1 to 5.

The championships attracted 36 participants from 36 countries with Guyana being the lone South American entry. Over 120 players participated in the tournament.

According to manager/ coach Linden Johnson, the team which comprised Matthew Khan, Paul Meusa and Christopher Franklyn performed creditably despite the constraints.

According to Johnson, Guyana's participation was made possible through Guyana Olympic Association president Juman Yassin. Johnson said Guyana's presence at the championships was a surprise to most of the other participating countries. "Most of the other people thought we were from the African continent. This was probably why our match with Iran was televised live around the Arab states," Johnson disclosed. "Over 65M people in Iran alone saw us perform and this gave Guyana a lot of recognition," he noted.

Johnson said in the team competition, Guyana was beaten by Iran in the quarter-final round, but ended fifth overall, while in the doubles competition Meusa and Khan reached the final 16.

He added that in the singles, Meusa was beaten in the first round while Khan and Franklyn reached the second round.

Overall, Johnson said, the locals performed really well despite not adapting to climatic and other conditions fast enough.

According to Johnson, the work put in by Chinese coach Zhou Ping shortly before the team departed for Iran, paid off. "They proved that they learnt something from the Chinese coach and I'm proud of that, but the coach can only do so much and no more."

Johnson would like to publicly thank the Ministry of Sport, the National Sports Commission and Juman Yassin for making their participation in the tournament possible.