Table tennis juniors to feature in CW Games

Pakistan’s senior players lack necessary speed, says federation.

KARACHI:

Pakistan’s national junior table tennis champions are gearing up for a tilt at the medals in the forthcoming 2014 Commonwealth (CW) Games.

The competition, which will be staged in Glasgow, starts on July 24 and concludes on August 3.

“Eighteen-year-old Rameez from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has not played any senior international event, but he can still give a tough time to the higher-ranked opponents,” said Pakistan Table Tennis Federation (PTTF) Secretary Kifayatullah Khan. “He’s also qualified for the Asian Games.”

Rameez will be supported by Danish from Sindh, who is the second-highest ranked national junior player.

Meanwhile, Areeba Sheikh and Farwa Babar will represent Pakistan women’s team. Both will be competing at their first Commonwealth Games.



“The players are going to compete with the seniors for the first time in the Games, so we have arranged league matches with national seniors like Saleem Abbas to build up their confidence,” said Kifayatullah.

“The reason for selecting young players is that the seniors lack the speed and accuracy required at this level, which is clearly visible in our youth,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 17^th, 2014.

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