International table tennis championship on the cards
The table tennis team consisting of three senior players: Heiko Fleidl, Fabian Tait and Reinhardt Stanley, as well as Darren Strauss, who will be joining the team as development player.
The team consists of three senior players: Heiko Fleidl, Fabian Tait and Reinhardt Stanley, as well as Darren Strauss, who will be joining the team as development player. Strauss, who is currently Namibia’s top ranked U/18 player, will use this event to gain valuable international experience. Tait will also make his debut on the international scene. Rudi Saunderson will be managing the team as head of the delegation.
Fleidl and Stanley already have the experience of representing Namibia overseas and are confident that this experience will help them to improve on previous performances. “Our skills are on par with most other teams, but our mental strength has been our biggest weakness at the previous world championships in Dortmund. This time around we have the experience, and we have also spent the last few weeks focusing our training on this with the help of top coaches from South Africa who have been working with the national team,” team captain Fleidl commented.
A total of 121 men’s teams and 105 ladies teams will be competing at the World Championships, with close to a 1,000 athletes. Namibia will be competing in a group with five or six other teams, which will be determined at a draw this weekend. They will play against each team in their group in a format of best out of five singles matches starting on Monday.
