Under the watchful eye of ITTF High Performance Manager Massimo Costantini and Head Coaches Jing Junhong (SGP) and Liu Jiayi (ENG), assisted by Mohamad Atoum (JOR) and Adnan Fawkhergi (OMA), 31 players and 23 coaches will convene in Oman for a six-day training camp, followed by the World Hopes Challenge on 31 July. Throughout the week, players will be evaluated by the coaching team on attributes of performance during training and competition.

Based on this, six to eight players per gender will be selected to continue on the expanded Hopes pathway and enter the Hopes Squad, attending certain follow-up activities throughout the next season that will grant the opportunity to qualify to the 2020 ITTF Hopes Team and attend the 2020 ITTF World Cadet Challenge. Selected players must demonstrate qualities of sportsmanship, such as training ethics, respect for other players, coaches and teamwork in order to progress. The winners of the Challenge competition will automatically earn a spot on the Hopes Squad.

Multiple educational sessions in the evenings will complement the practical training element, offering the participating coaches the opportunity to share experiences and learn from best practice examples. Leading on from the online coaching course “Early Talent ID and Hopes Stage Planning 2019”, which was offered on ittfeducation.com prior to the activity and included the opportunity to prepare an assignment, one of the educational sessions is reserved for the coach who prepared the best presentation.

The Hopes Programme is a series of activities at national, regional, continental and world level featuring education, training camps, competition and talent identification. The Hopes Programme is part of a seamless High Performance pathway that offers training and development opportunities for players from U11 to U21 and their coaches.

Click here for a list of participants.