04/25/2013        

A total of 33 boys and girls, born in 2000 and 2001, are in attendance at the Arab Hopes Week and Challenge at the Maadi Olympic Centre in the Egyptian capital city of Cairo.

Proceedings commenced on Sunday 21st April and conclude on Friday 26th April 2013.

An intense schedule, the first four days were allocated to a Training Camp under the direction of Sweden’s Peter Karlsson, the final two days see a tournament take place.

Players from the African countries of Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia are present; whilst from Asia, there are representatives from Lebanon, Jordan and Yemen.

The schedule follows a similar Hopes week conducted earlier in month by Emanuel Christiansson, also from Sweden, for Egyptian players.

Perfect Facilities
“The Olympic Centre where the Camp was held was perfect”, said Peter Karlsson. “The gym, accommodation and restaurant were all within a few minutes walking distance of each other.”

Equally, Peter Karlsson was enthused with the players under his charge.

“I was impressed with the level of the players here on the Hopes Camp”, he added. “They showed a great fighting spirit and were eager to improve.”

Message from Peter Karlsson
Furthermore, he had a message for the players. 

“I would like to give a message to all the young players who are here and also to their coaches and parents”, he continued. “See the ITTF Hopes week as a fantastic opportunity to gain new experiences and to meet and play against many new players.”

ITTF Hopes Week
A tremendous opportunity and there is intense competition to be selected to attend the ITTF Hopes Week and Challenge which will be staged at the Werner Schlager Academy in Vienna from Monday 10th to Sunday 16th June 2013.

Maintain the Energy
“As only one boy and one girl can be selected from each country there will be many good players who are not going to Vienna in June”, added Peter Karlsson. “To all of you: keep up the energy and I’m sure the future looks bright for all of you, many more tournaments and training camps will come into your career, good luck to all of you.” 

High Praise for Coaches
Credit to the players and Peter Karlsson also paid credit to the coaches.
“I also have to give credit to the coaches who are working very actively and with a great deal of passion and energy; this helps the young players a lot!” stressed Peter Karlsson. “I hope that the result for Egypt in Guangzhou will give a boost for table tennis in Africa and that we will see long term planning for the talented players who are here; Africa has great future potential.”

At the Times Property World Team Classic in Guangzhou in late March, the Egyptian Men’s Team excelled by winning the bronze medal. 

Vote of Thanks
“Finally I want to thank Khaled El-Salhy and Ahmed El-Dawlatly for making my visit in Cairo enjoyable and giving me a lot of good memories”, concluded Peter Karlsson. 
Certainly the efforts of Khaled El-Salhy and Ahmed El-Dawlatly had proved most worthwhile.


 

Advice from Peter Karlsson, both coaches and players listen intently
Photo courtesy of Ahmed El-Dawlatly

Players and coaches with Peter Karlsson at the Maadi Olympic Centre in Cairo
Photo courtesy of Ahmed El-Dawlatly