WINDHOEK – The national table tennis men’s team will represent the country at the World Team Table Tennis Championships in the Japanese capital Tokyo starting today.
The Namibian contingent consists of three senior players Heiko Fleidl, debutante Fabian Tait and Reinhardt Stanley, while Darren Strauss joins the trio as development player. Strauss, currently Namibia’s top ranked U-18 player, will use the event to gain valuable international experience. Rudi Saunderson doubles up as team manager and head of delegation. Fleidl and Stanley have already represented Namibia internationally and are confident the experience gained will assist them to improve on previous performances. “Our skills are certainly on par with most of the other teams, but our mental strength has been our biggest weakness at the pervious World Champs in Dortmund. This time, we have the experience and have spent the last few weeks training under the stewardship of top coaches from South Africa, who have been working with the national team,” said team captain Fleidl.
A total of 121 (men) and 105 (women) teams will compete at the World Championships with close to 1000 athletes in action. Namibia will fight it out in a group with 5 or 6 other nations, which was to be determined by a draw last weekend. The Namibians will compete in a format of the best out of 5 singles matches. The team’s progress and results can be followed on Facebook (Namibian Table Association – NTTA).
By Staff Reporter