World Championship Qualifiers Kick Off with High Hopes for Kenyan Athletes

The ITTF-Africa Cup is set to begin tomorrow at Moi Stadium, Kasarani, with Kenya’s top table tennis players competing against some of the best in Africa.

Among the contenders are Egypt’s Omar Assar, a nine-time continental champion, and his Nigerian rival Aruna Quadri. Assar expressed his eagerness to win his tenth continental title, hoping to repeat his impressive performance from 2018 when he last visited Kenya.

The Kenyan team will be led by Brian Mutua and Lisa Wele, a second-year Bachelor of Arts student from the University of Nairobi.

Other team members include Bahati Rufina, Lydia Setey, and Mary Kinyua, who received a wildcard entry to the event. Wele, who has already won gold in the East African School Games and the KUSF University Games, said that it is an honor to represent her country in a continental extravaganza.

The men’s team is also experienced and resilient, according to Kenya Table Tennis Association (KTTA) President Andrew Mudibo.

Mudibo said that this will be the second time in five years that Kenya is hosting a continental event, following the successful organization of the Africa Cup in 2018, which was voted the best-organized event in the world by the International Table Tennis Federation