Kenya Table Tennis Association (KTTA) has announced a 5-year schools scholarship partnership program with Nairobi-based Visa Oshwal Primary and St. Joseph’s and Monica High Schools in Trans-Nzoia.
The partnership is a pilot program aimed at nurturing talent across all levels of education with the target of producing players ready to compete at the top level.
The federation’s president Andrew Mudibo said the program is the only way through which the sport will get competitive once more.
He is also optimistic the project will be rolled out in all the 47 counties with a total of 15 athletes expected to benefit from the first cycle.
“I am thrilled to announce the partnership. We want to create a full cycle for any player to get a full scholarship. We are working on a total of 15 athletes across the three institutions who will benefit in the first phase. We want to make the sport great again by ensuring players can play at Olympics and World Championships in the near future,” he said. Kitale has been a rich hub in regards to table tennis with schools in the region dominating at the East African level.
“Kitale has been the backbone of table tennis in Kenya. St. Monica and Joseph’s have been dominant in the past two decades. It was a noble idea to have them on board as leading examples of what success entails,” Mudibo said.
Mudibo, however, urged corporates to come on board to make the federation realise it’s dream. Just like volleyball, athletics and other disciplines that are going to represent Kenya in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, Oshwal headmaster Ithaga Njoroge believes table tennis has the potential to expose and make players realise their potential.
