Two of Africa’s elite table tennis tournaments- African Cup and the Olympics Qualification Tournament- are scheduled to hold at the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda, from May 12 to May 18.
A statement by the African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF) on Thursday said that the best table tennis players in the continent would battle for honours and tickets to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in France.
According to the statement, for the first time in the history of the 10,000-capacity indoor arena, a table tennis tournament will be staged indoors.
ATTF President, Khaled El-Salhy, expressed confidence in the capacity of the Rwanda Table Tennis Association (RTTA) to stage a world-class event.
“Rwanda had a very successful bid presentation at the 2023 ITTF-Africa AGM in Tunisia to host the 2024 ITTF-Africa Cup as well as the African Olympics Qualification Tournament for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
“The delegates at the AGM voted overwhelmingly for Rwanda as a new host in Africa with great ambition to promote table tennis in the eastern part of Africa and to meet all the requirements set by the ITTF and ATTF for professional organisation,” El-Salhy said.
According to El-Salhy, having hosted regional tournaments in the past, he believes the RTTA has the wherewithal and capacity to host the continent.
He, therefore, said that the events would be exciting and explosive, especially the Olympic Qualification Tournament.
El-Salhy said: “I believe it will be two fantastic events, with all our top players competing in the African Cup, followed by the big battle to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
“All the players are working hard to qualify for the Olympic Games, and we are looking forward to having the best possible representatives for Africa in Paris to ensure we have better performance and results than the previous Olympic Games,” he added.
El-Salhy disclosed that the ATTF had been monitoring the preparation in Kigali with a view to providing the necessary support to RTTA in staging these two important tournaments.