'We will deliver an outstanding tournament in Ghana' - GTTA President

Mr. Mawuko Afadzinu, President of the Ghana Table Tennis Association (GTTA), has said, the Association is ready to make Ghana proud, as hosts of the upcoming World and Africa table tennis championships in the country.

Ghana has been handed the mantle to host two major International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) tournaments in April.

The two World Championships; the ITTF World Junior Circuit (WJC) tournament and African Youth, Junior and Cadet Championships (AYJCC), would take place at the Bukom Boxing Arena in Accra, from Monday, April 1 to Friday, April 5 and Sunday, April 7 to Saturday, April 13, respectively.

The International Table Tennis Day would be celebrated in Ghana on April 6 before the AYJCC begins on the following day.

Mr. Afadzinu, in a media briefing ahead of both competitions said, the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for both competitions have put the necessary measures in place to ensure the success of the competition.

He said over 20 countries have confirmed their participation in the tournament to be held in Ghana.

"Our hope is to deliver a tournament that will make the country proud, a tournament that would inspire a whole generation of players. We want to make those who will be visiting Ghana worthy ambassadors of Ghana and leave here with high praise for the country," he said.

"The LOC has put in place all the necessary arrangements for all participating countries to feel comfortable."

He said the government of Ghana had shown immense commitment towards the success of the tournament, adding that, the Association was grateful to the government.

He noted that the tournament would give more local tennis players the needed exposure for future events because as many of them as possible would get the opportunity to play.

He said the primary focus was to make sure that a lot of the junior athletes play in the tournament and would also seize the opportunity to build interest in the sport across the country.

The WJC is one of the ITTF junior circuits, where players across the globe amass points to qualify for the end-of-the-year World Junior Finals, while the AYJCC is Africa’s qualifiers for the World Junior Championship as well as a platform to select African team for the World Cadet Challenge.

The last time Ghana hosted a major event in table tennis was in 2004 when Ghana hosted the African Junior and Cadet Championships.