World table tennis day 2022 Celebrating the power of peace-making through table tennis |07 April 2022

Some former players were back in the gym yesterday to show they can still play the game

To commemorate world table tennis day celebrated annually on April 6 since 2015, the sport’s local governing body yesterday hosted a fun day at the Roche Caïman Omni-Sports Gymnasium where members of the executive committee, along with past players joined together and played with the younger generation of athletes.

According to the chairman of the Seychelles Table Tennis Association (STTA) Francis Remie, the annual event is also a way to attract more youngsters to the sport, while also seizing the occasion to promote a sense and spirit of healthy and exemplary lifestyle among the youth.

Other than celebrating table tennis, the annual world table tennis day (WTTD) also coincides with the international day of sport for development and peace.

In line with the biennial celebration of the 50th anniversary of ping pong diplomacy, the WTTD 2022 focused on using table tennis for peace-making and conflict resolutions.

Sparked by the original event in the Japanese city of Nagoya in 1971, the WTTD 2022 seeks to create friendships and build bridges between conflicted parties on both, the state and grassroots level.

This year’s event supports two of the United Nations sustainable development goals, including to significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere, and also to strengthen relevant national institutions, including through international cooperation, for building capacity at all levels, in particular in developing countries, to prevent violence and combat terrorism and crime.

Roland Duval