by Olalekan Okusan, ITTF-Africa Press Officer

Innocent Bahati,  the Secretary-General of Rwanda Table Tennis Federation, speaking to Daniel Ruziga, the Media Officer, explained that he had been advised by Daniel Ruziga, t, that seven countries in the region had confirmed their participation in the three day tournament.

Alongside Rwanda, the confirmed countries are Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Mauritius, Djibouti and Somalia.

“In addition to the seven, we also still expect confirmation from Comoros, Madagascar, Eritrea, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Sudan,” Innocent Bahati

The tournament, an opportunity for the country to showcase its potential as well as to attract more people to the sport, will commence with an umpires and coaches training programme; the initiative being very much the brainchild of John Bosco Burungi, the President of the Rwanda Table Tennis Federation.

“This will be our first biggest regional ITTF competition to be hosted in Rwanda. The Rwanda Table Tennis Federation believes hosting such big competitions will yet again boost the sport in terms of awareness and will attract the public to join the sport in Rwanda, especially among youths at grassroots. We also plan to organize training camps, where parents can register their children who are interested in learning and playing the game. We have a long term strategic plan, which includes developing the sport in schools, at training centres as well as increasing the number of clubs countrywide.” John Bosco Burungi,

Notably, the event is supported by Rao Hongwei, the Chinese Ambassador in Rwanda