By SANDRA MWILA –
ZAMBIA has been picked to host the 2014 International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Hopes Week and Challenge starting tomorrow at the Olympic Youth Development Centre (OYDC) in Lusaka.
The regional World Hopes Week and Challenge programme will be held under the auspices of the ITTF and the Africa Table Tennis Federation (ATTF).
Zambia Table Tennis Association (ZTTA) patron Haroon Ghumra said in a statement yesterday that the six day programme will consist of a four-day training camp that will run from Friday to Monday.
Ghumra said the training programme will be conducted by an expert from Jordan, Mohammed Ameen.
He said the competition will then run for two days starting on Tuesday and will see the participants battling it out in the boys and girls singles.
“We at ZTTA are indeed delighted to have been asked to host this event. It is a sign of the confidence both the international and continental mother bodies have in our ability to host such a programme. This follows the successful staging of the Zone Six tournament in July,” he said.
Ghumra said the training camp that starts tomorrow was of great importance as it was in line with ZTTA Talent Identification Programme (TIP) as only players Under 12 years were eligible to compete.
He said the ITTF was looking at tapping talent at an early age and that the youngsters would be exposed to new playing skills to be conducted by a tennis expert.
Meanwhile, Ghumra said trials were held at the OYDC where a team was picked to represent Zambia.
The players picked include Justin Kazembe, Wisdom Nyirenda, Fred Mwanza, Chanda Muma (Olymp Africa) and Sydney Sakala (Ng’ombe PTA) while the women Under 10 team has Monica Mutale, Janet Mwelwa, Martha Mulenga (Olymp Africa) and Harriet Tembo (Ng’ombe PTA).
The Under 12 boys team has Charles Mutambo (Chipata Primary) and the Olymp Africa pair of Zani Kaira and Abraham Tembo while the girls team comprise of Ruth Mutailoni and Shila Mwanza (Ng’ombe PTA), Latifa Nalavwe (Ping Pong Stars) and Mubanga Kunda (Olymp Africa).
And Seychelles were the first team to arrive in the country yesterday.
