Nam-China table tennis cup set up
Chinese ambassador Xin Shunkang (right) handing over the cheque for the Namibia China Friendship Cup to NTTA’s Fabian Tait.
The competition consist of regional play-offs, which will commence this weekend with the first qualification round while the finals are set to take place on 18 April in Windhoek.
The Chinese Embassy made N$121,120 available for this milestone in Namibia’s friendship with China. “Table Tennis marks one of our many celebrations we share with Namibia on this very special occasion,” a delighted Ambassador Xin Shunkang,Chinese Ambassador to Namibia, said during the official launch of the tournament in Windhoek on Tuesday night.
Ambassador Xin, who enjoys playing table tennis himself, furthermore applauded the NTTA for its hard work in setting up such a prestigious event. “A lot of work goes into hosting such a tournament and we are very happy that it can be carried out”, he stated while also underlining that Chinese Embassy wishes to strengthen their relationships with the NTTA in years to come.
The event is set to be contested in the senior men, junior men and junior ladies division. The participating regions are Khomas, Erongo and Hardap. For both junior categories, each school of each region is allowed to enter a maximum of four boys and four girls for the play-offs. They will then play against each other in a round-robin format to determine the top eight boys and girls that will advance to the final elimination round in Windhoek. The winners will receive staggering prize monies. In the senior division, each club from the two regions of Erongo and Khomas will play out for the two final places. The duo will meet the top two Chinese players in Namibia, in the finals.
All finals will take place on 18th April in Windhoek. Ambassador Xin closed off the launching ceremony by stating that the participating players will also receive a special, limited-edition commemorative envelope as a souvenir that was designed and produced for the 25th anniversary of China-Namibia diplomatic relations.
