by Olalekan Okusan, ITTF Member Relations Media Officer

Prior to June, in 2021 under the leadership of Mr. Ali Rasheed, the President of the Table Tennis Association of Maldives (TTAM), three major events have been organised; a national ranking scheme was initiated in January, World Table Tennis Day (WTTD) was celebrated in April, soon after the Ramadan Cup was held from Tuesday 27th to Thursday 29th April.

All serve as preparation for the 2021 South Asian Junior and Cadet Championships as well as the Commonwealth Youth Tour to be held later this year in August.

The youthful Mr. Ali Rasheed hailed the staging of the tournaments as an accomplishment for his team.

“Maldives is one of the most affected countries in the Asia region due to the Covid 19 pandemic; with the emergence of confirmed cases of the virus, the country is still undergoing strict restrictions. TTAM is having a difficult time returning to normal as a result of these tight limitations. However, I am pleased that we were able to accomplish three successful events while adhering to the rules.

The first ranking was held from 13th to 28th January 2021 at the Muni Ufaa TT Hall. The primary objective of this event was to provide more match experiences to our players. The system used in this event was created to ensure that all players of all ages have the best possible experience in each age category.” Ali Rasheed

Unquestionably, Mr. Ali Rasheed has motivated local players and is clearly forward thinking.

“After a strong start to the year 2021, the players were anxious to get back to normal training after a long hiatus caused by the pandemic. We engaged a high-performance coach to train our players with the support of Sports Minister, Ahmed Mahloof, since we have two international events coming up (South Asian Junior & Cadet Championship 2021 and Commonwealth Youth Tour 2021).

The WTTD this year was another thrilling and fun celebration. The goal of this event was to get as many people as possible involved in table tennis. The emphasis was on the inclusiveness of the people who love the sport.

Prior to the event, some of our Executive Members met with some schools to invite them to the event and give them the opportunity to join in the sport, this added significantly to our Youth Development Programme.

Following HPA (Health Protection Agency) guidelines, we gathered as many people as possible and held a wonderful and exciting event that included gender equality awareness. The event was a great success, bringing all of the people who love the sport together.” Ali Rasheed

Equally, Mr. Ali Rasheed was positive with regards to the Ramadan Cup.

“This was an open event held in the middle of Ramadan in the year 2021. Former players, coaches, veterans, social members, and current members of the junior and senior squads were all warmly welcomed. Fun competition with six players from six different levels on each team. The matches were set up such that players played at the same level, making them more competitive and enjoyable. Furthermore, because it was a mixed team event, young players were able to get great experience by playing a diversity of players with different styles.” Ali Rasheed

Successful events, now Mr. Ali Rasheed is looking forward to more.

“We are pleased to announce that the South Asian Junior and Cadet Table Tennis Championships 2021, as well as the Commonwealth Youth Tour 2021, will be held in the middle of August this year. All of the competition preparations are ongoing in discussion with the related federations.” Ali Rasheed