Zim Table Tennis team departs for Tunisia
Story by Raynald Ngwarati, Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE’S table tennis team departed for Tunisia this Saturday ahead of the International Table Tennis Federation Africa Senior Championships.
The four-member squad comprises a coach and three players who are set to represent Zimbabwe at the African Championships.
Having assembled a competitive squad, Zimbabwe will be looking forward to putting on a solid performance at the games, having had strong preparations.
The trio of Brian Chamboko, Tatenda Mumvuma and Tinotenda Fambira had a month-long tour of China, where they put on a strong performance as they rubber-stamped their ambitions ahead of the continental games.
Zimbabwe, however, are represented by males only, meaning they will not participate in the women’s and mixed doubles matches.
Head coach Tinashe Duri believes Team Zimbabwe is capable of outshining their opponents, come Monday.
“We’ll arrive in Tunisia tomorrow afternoon. The team is geared up, we’re looking forward to bringing back good results. We want to thank the government through the SRC for their support and for giving us the clearance to attend the African Championships. These are major games and we’re working hard. We know what is ahead of us and we’re geared to put on a winning performance,” he said.
The tournament offers an opportunity for African table tennis players to make it to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games qualifiers set for Tunis.
From September 11 to 17, the Rades Sports Complex will host another epoch-making continental tournament in which players and teams will be gunning for tickets to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Tunisia hosted the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Qualifiers in 2020 and it is believed the staging of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games qualifiers would give them the chance to showcase their ability in hosting top-class events as well as provide players an opportunity to qualify for Paris.
