24 Nov 2013

Yesteryear  table tennis players from the corporate world converged at the Gaborone West Community Hall on Saturday, November 23 for a corporate tournament organised by Botswana Table Tennis Association (BTTA).


The tournament was part of the association’s aim to take the sport to the people and create a networking platform between the association and the corporate world.

The tournament was also meant to bring together table tennis legends under one roof to map the way forward for the association.
 The lack of prizes or any sponsor did not diminish the excitement of the participants as the bragging rights were all that was at stake.

After going through the round robin stages, William Olyn was declared the overall champion with Thebe Selema and Leornard Matota coming second and third respectively. 


BTTA’s Kudzanani Motswagole said in an interview that the association had identified that the working class had no time for the sport due to their busy work schedule therefore it was necessary to organise a tournament  for them.


The tournament, he said, was in its debutant year and they were hopeful to make it an annual event. 
He was pleased with the turn out of the day despite lack of sponsors and prices adding that it was a true reflection of the dedication that prevailed among the players.

The kind of dedication from the yesteryear players, he said, was exactly what had been driving the association for the past years, when sponsorships and funds were hard to come by.


Motswagole indicated that they have the desire to turn the sport professional and organising such tournaments like corporate tournaments may play a big role in luring corporate sponsorships into the game.


“We are currently all volunteers in the association and this cripples the growth of the sport,” said  Motswagole.
 The association, he said, was focusing on developing ways through which they can adopt table tennis players from schools since it has surfaced that a lot of talent is lost when children complete their studies. ENDS