Regular competitions expected with table tennis clubs’ launch |16 June 2009

Guests, including community development director-general Dan Frichot, Seychelles Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association (Socga) president Antonio Gopal, Roche Caïman district administrator Wilbert Omath, parents and players gathered at the Omnisports Gym, Roche Caïman, on Sunday afternoon to witness the launch of table tennis clubs here.

The five clubs – Takamaka (captained by Janice Mellie), Anse Aux Pins (captained by Anniessa Benstrong), Beau Vallon (captained by Doreena Robert), Anse Etoile (captained by David Low-Thion), and Roche Caïman (captained by Godfrey Sultan) – will meet each other on a home-and-away basis starting next month.

To ease the process, Socga, under its talent identification programme, and the Community Development Department of the Ministry of Community Development, Youth, Sports and Culture, sponsored 31 tables to be used by the players in the districts. Each table has cost R4,500.

Socga president Gopal had words of praise for the Seychelles Table Tennis Association (STTA) and said that hard work pays off.

“Seychelles table tennis has made a lot of progress thanks to the hard work of volunteers who want to see the sport reach a new height,” said Mr Gopal.

“We are confident that Seychelles’ table tennis will earn more success in the future now that it has started winning medals in the Indian Ocean region.”

STTA chairman Francis Remie is delighted now that more players will be in action on a regular basis.
“There will more competition and the players will be looking forward to play seriously every fortnight,” he said.

“With a table tennis table in every district, all those who would like to learn to play the sport can do so,” he added.
Players of the five clubs were in action immediately after the official launch.