by Olalekan Okusan, ITTF-Africa Press Officer

The presentation of team flags by young Tunisians added glamour to the event, the flagbearers dressed in regal traditional Tunisian attire.

Undoubtedly, the icing on the cake was the choreography presentation from an Ivorian group. They thrilled the fans with their synchronised display, celebrated against a background of modern and traditional music, exciting watch.

Meanwhile, in his welcome address, Lotfi Guerfel, President of the Tunisia Table Tennis Federation thanked the International Table Tennis Federation and the African Table Tennis Federation for selecting Tunisia as host for the ITTF-Africa Top 16 Cup and the African Singles and Mixed Doubles Olympic Qualification Tournament; the most important tournaments to be staged this year in Africa.

“We are grateful to ITTF and ATTF for selecting Tunisia to host these events. We believe this will help the sport to grow. We welcome all our top stars from all over Africa. We hope you will enjoy your stay in the beautiful city of Tunis.” Lotfi Guerfel

Meanwhile, for Khaled El-Salhy, the President of African Table Tennis Federation, he was most thankful to the government of Tunisia for agreeing to host these important events.

“I must commend the government and people of Tunisia for their warm hospitality; for us at ATTF, we hope that our top stars will enjoy every moment of their stay in Tunis.” Khaled El-Salhy

Notably, the ITTF Africa Top 16 Cup is a qualification tournament for the Men’s World Cup and Women’s World Cup to be held later in the year; the African Singles and Mixed Doubles Olympic Qualification Tournament decides places at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.