WINDHOEK – The Namibian Table Tennis Association (NTTA) kicked-off its long-term youth development programme with a 3-week long intensive training camp under the stewardship of Chiang Lin, owner of Cape Town based Tony’s Table Tennis Academy.
The aim of the gathering is to improve local youngsters and to identify talent that can represent Namibia in upcoming international events, such as the Zone 6 Games to be hosted by Namibia next year. Former professional Shane Obermeyer was in Namibia to prepare the senior national team for the World Cup in Japan and assisted with the training sessions. The cooperation started with negotiations with the Table Tennis Board last year, which requested Chiang Lin to assist with development and coaching. Thanks to the kind sponsorship of HRS Consultants CC, Saunderson & Company and Sunflower Travel & Tours the cooperation could finally materialize. “I was amazed at how passionate and committed the participants were, while some of the participants had to travel long distances to attend the training camps. Everybody was focused and I really enjoyed it a lot,” said Chiang Lin, who doubles as the Western Province provisional coach.
Although he had to work on some basics at first, Chiang Lin was happy with the progress made by the 20 kids and strongly believes Namibia could become a regional powerhouse in the future, if the youngsters continue to train hard on a regular basis. “The key is to try and train every single day and commit resources to the youth. Once that happens, I don’t see any reason why Namibia should not become a regional force or better still continental powerhouse.
The talent is there but it needs to be developed properly,” added Chiang Lin, who signalled that he is willing to commit himself to the development programme should he reach a firm agreement with the NTTA.
By Staff Reporter