The Sunday News
Mbekezeli Ncube, Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE Table Tennis Union (ZTTU) president John Muringani said his organisation is expecting a large number of participants at this year’s edition of the Zimbabwe Open scheduled for the end of this month at Prince Edward High School in Harare.
Zimbabwe Open is a table tennis annual event that provides players with an opportunity to test their capabilities and skills.
The event formerly known as the Rhodesia Open during its early years has been running since 1963 and it will see Zimbabwe play host to China, Botswana and Zambia. Midlands State University and other learning institutions across the country have also been invited to attend.
“We are looking forward to a huge turnout of participants this time around as we invited universities, colleges, secondary and primary schools,” said Muringani.
At least 160 participants from as young as 10, 12, 15, 18 and 21 and the open will stand a chance to expose their talent during the two-day event.
“This is the last tournament of the year as far as the table tennis calendar is concerned, so the participants will do whatever it takes to end the season as champions. This tournament is also used to select our national team,’’ Muringani said.
Last year’s champions, Vikram Singh Zimbabwe’s number one who won in the men’s category and Zhang Yen from China who claimed championship glory in the women’s group will also stand a chance to defend their titles.
ZTTU technical director Newman Gomendo said preparations for the tournament are at an advanced stage.
“We have started preparations for this year’s edition, everything is going smoothly at the moment.
“However, we are facing challenges in terms of finance. This year it is going to be tough as most of the participants are up-and-coming athletes who have just graduated from being juniors. I’m sure they are going to dominate and give the top seeds a hard time,” Gomendo said.
According to Muringani, the union has put in a request to the corporate world for financial support.
