Rising table tennis talent Ezile Ndwabasini will take part in the biggest tournament of his fledgling career when he competes in the World Junior Table Tennis Championships in Cape Town.
The South African Table Tennis Board will be hosting the tournament from November 30 to December 7 which will see the best junior table tennis players from around the world taking part in the prestigious event.
“I am so happy to have made the team,” Ndwabasini said.
“This is the biggest achievement in table tennis so far and I am really looking forward to the tournament.”
Twenty six countries across both the boys’ and girls’ divisions will participate, battling it out for glory in both the team and the singles events.
It will be Ndwabasini’s first taste of international action and he will be aiming to take in as much as he can over the event.
“I am very excited, I know I am a good player and I know I will be coming up against some very strong players, so I want to learn as much as possible,” Ndwabasini said.
“My goal is to at least make the top 20, or even possibly top 10 at the world champs, which would be great for me.”
Alphendale High School pupil, Ndwabasini was the only Eastern Cape table tennis player to make it into the South African team, with just six boys and six girls chosen for the U18 event.
At 15-years-old it makes the feat of making the side even more impressive.
Ndwabasini is the Eastern Cape table tennis champion and at the nationals this year advanced to the quarterfinals.
“Making the SA team was a little bit of a surprise. They first said that only four players were going to make the team but when the results came back six players had been chosen, so I wasn’t that surprised to make the top six,” Ndwabasini said.
Also representing East London at the champs will be Buffalo City Table Tennis Association president Nigel Adams, a teacher at Alphendale. Adams is the only umpire from the Eastern Cape who will be at the event.
“I have umpired at a couple of world events before, in 2010 at the senior worlds in Russia and 2011 at the para-worlds in Korea but this is the first time we are hosting a world event so I am happy to be a part of it,” Adams said.
“Ezile has been brilliant, he is just the second player from the Buffalo City region to make the SA U18 team after Kurt Adams did in 2009-2010, so we are really proud,” he said.
“He is one of our stars, he will be an ambassador for the younger players and has a bright future ahead of him.”