KTTA names provisional squad for Africa Youth Games

A provisional squad of 12 players has been selected based on national team ranking that will represent Kenya Table Tennis Association (KTTA) at the forthcoming Africa Youth Games slated for July 18-27 in Algiers, Algeria.

Speaking to Citizen Digital on Wednesday, KTTA Fixtures Secretary Micheal Kuria said that out of the 12 selected, only three boys and an equal number of girls will make it to Team Kenya.

“The players have been conducting their training in school…under the supervision of their coaches who are also their teachers.  This is to ensure that their education is not disrupted. We are waiting for more details to know when and where they’ll be camping. This information can only come from the National Olympic Committee of Kenya,” Kuria said.

The 12 players will be managed by Mariga Mwangi and coached by Derick Nyenje from Kisumu.

Susan Reber, Mercy Jebet, Vallery Chebet, Pamela Glory, Lucy Ragul, Ruth Chepleting, Sylvia Mokua and Joy Orucho will be in the hunt of the three spots available for girls team, while in the boys Under-18 category, Allan Singar , Zablon Ekisa, Elijah Miheso, Charles Mwangi, Meshak Simiyu, Samuel Githinji,  Khushiv Shah and Zaki Pema will keep their fingers crossed as KTTA decides on the final list at the end of the week.

Meanwhile, the KTTA league will resume this weekend at City Stadium as the first leg almost comes to an end. Action begins at 9am with Technical University of Kenya and Strathmore opening the floor in the men’s category, while Palos takes on Team Nakuru in the women’s contest.

“This is going to be the second last round before we close the first leg next month. It’s important for all teams to participate in the two rounds remaining to get the maximum points  they can if they want the league title,”Kuria added.

Once the first leg is over, the players will shift their focus on Legends Memorial Tournament scheduled for June 2-3 that will be hosted at Kenyatta University then break until August when the second leg is expected to resume.