The women's table tennis team of the Republic of Congo has
surprised the African insiders in the ninth All-Africa Games by
defeating Nigeria 3-1.
An official of the International Table Tennis Federation(ITTF)
on Sunday attributed the victory to new ideas brought by Chinese
coaches to the African continent.
Kahled El-Salhy, chairman of the ITTF Calendar Working Group,
told Xinhua in an exclusive interview that the Republic of Congo
should have a better chance to win if they were not delayed to
participate in the competition.
"Chinese coaches told them how to run the table tennis. That is
not only about technology but also related to mental work to play
ping pong," El-Salhy said, adding that "it is quite new for
Africa."
Yang Fen, former coach of the Republic of Congo, said she had
taught the girls for a whole year since 2005. After that other
Chinese coaches also came to nurture them.
"Team members used to regard table tennis as a means to make fun
and seek health. They took part in international contests just as
participants. With the guidance of Chinese coaches, the team
members began to focus on learning Chinese technologies and tactics
and made tremendous progress," said Yang who used to be a
professional player of Shanghai team.
In the first stage of All-Africa Games's table tennis women team
event, the Republic of Congo became the first beating Nigeria who
has dominated the African table tennis for the past two
decades.
Unfortunately, as they missed the first two matches on July 12
and just arrived on July 13 by flight, their final stand fell to
the ninth.
Table tennis competition of the games takes place between July
12 and 22.
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(Xinhua News Agency July 16, 2007)