17 Jul 2024

This year’s week-long ITTF Africa Hopes Week and Challenge has set the wheels in motion for the Botswana Table Tennis Association (BTTA) in their efforts to develop young players.

In a post-interview, the Botswana team manager, Godirileone Bagwasi said despite their underperformance during the challenge held in Gaborone at Botho University Multipurpose Hall, the event had empowered young table tennis players with the requisite skills essential to their development.

“The challenge has proved to be a vital ingredient in our development, particularly because it was our maiden international tournament. I believe that from here going forward, players have acquired the necessary skills that will help them to cope with challenges and improve their level of play. We have learnt a lot in defeat and it is a motivation. Their commitment will improve and they will compete better,” Bagwasi said.

He added that training for the challenge had worked well for the local players even though they did not do well.

“Preparing the team was a challenge because the age group that was involved in the challenge was of learners who were in their upper primary and preparing for Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE).

However, with the support and cooperation of parents, the players were allowed even though with some stern conditions to join the training and challenge. Our training was also hampered by financial constraints,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Under 12 Ugandan players dominated this year’s ITTF Africa Hopes Week and Challenge, something which Bagwasi described as a surprise to many.

“What Uganda did was a surprise to many. However, the positive result was of what they were doing to groom the young players. In Africa the indomitable forces in table tennis are the likes of Egypt, Nigeria and Algeria dominating but Uganda has changed the landscape, showing that they were focused in developing their young players,” Bagwasi said.

Uganda’s Patience Anyango defeated her team mate, Patra Nasirumbi in the girls’ finals while Ghana’s Israel Aklie won the challenge after beating Uganda’s Joseph Sebatindira in the boys’ category.

The quartet had consequently secured tickets to represent Africa at the ITTF World Hopes Week and Challenge to be hosted in Asuncion, Paraguay from November 1-7.

In an interview, Ugandan coach, Alvin Katumba said he came with five players to participate in the Hopes Challenge.

Katumba said the players were in the junior national team adding that the youth development in the sport was equally strong in Uganda.

Katumba, who also coaches Nakasero Table Tennis Club in Uganda, added the club was doing well in developing young talent and it was not by default that four of the players that participated in the Hopes were from his club.

He said players were also given exposure as they had in the past participated in tournaments in Kenya, Rwanda and some locally.

“Hopes training is a wonderful platform to groom young table players more so that it was conducted by an expert in the game. It has given them new tactics in table tennis,” he said.

For his part, one of Botswana team coaches, Brown Sebokolodi said the primary purpose of the event was to train young players and test what they had learnt during the challenge.

Sebokolodi said he was impressed with the players’ responsiveness to the plan from the facilitator and determination to play what they were taught.

 

“Results are expected in the long run. After acquiring such training, players must practice what they were taught. We also acknowledged that the local players were lacking exposure and were faced with power houses in table tennis,” he said.

 

He added that some of the countries who participated at the challenge such as Tunisia and Ghana have coaches and facilities of high class as well as well-established programmes and therefore highly competitive.

However, he applauded local players for showing their prowess and giving their opponents stern competition.

He said the programme also empowered coaches, who he encouraged to teach young players the game tactics as well as allow them to explore and apply their own strategies.

“It is important for coaches to understand that learning is a process and therefore must be patient with the young players and never expect them to perform exceptional overnight. It is also important to understand that some will be able to instantly understand what they have been taught and apply it immediately while for others it will take time,” he added.

Meanwhile, the week-long event was used as a training session to groom young table tennis players from Africa and it attracted 21 players under the age of 12 years from Botswana, Uganda, Ghana, South Africa, Rwanda, Benin, Togo, Tunisia, Egypt and Ivory Coast.

The final day of the event was used to stage a challenge where young players showcased what they had learnt throughout the week.

Finalists were awarded opportunity to represent Africa at this year’s ITTF World Hopes Week and Challenge, an event that would cater for 40 table tennis boys and girls players under the age of 12 years from across the globe. BOPA/150724tsk