Table Tennis Added to List of Sports for Para-Athletes

Jamaica has added Table Tennis to the list of sports the para-athletes will participate in, at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which was signed today (February 17), by the Jamaica Paralympics Association (JPA) and Table Tennis Jamaica (TTJ),  at the Sir John Golding Rehabilitation Centre, in Kingston, outlines that the TTJ will provide professional training and equipment to the JPA and its athletes, in preparation for the Tokyo Paralympics.

Under the MoU, the Sir John Golding Rehabilitation Centre has been designated the Paralympics Table Tennis Centre of Excellence, where the athletes will be trained.

Speaking at the event, President of the JPA, Christopher Samuda, said  the signing  “marks a historic step in the growth of the Paralympics Association and development of sports in the country.”

He  said  the JPA is pleased to provide the athletes with options to represent the country at the Paralympics, because “not everyone is good at Track and Field or Wheelchair Basketball and we (JPA) want to accommodate the other athletes within the disabled community.”

Mr. Samuda pointed out that over the next four years, the programme will be an aggressive one, in preparation for Tokyo, and will be a catalyst for others to join the Paralympics team.

In the meantime, President of  the TTJ,  Godfrey Lothian, said  the organization received  assistance from the International Table Tennis Federation to certify 16 local tennis coaches to train the paralympians.

“The  TTJ endorses the signing (of the MoU) and will be working with the table tennis parish and county associations, to identify paralympians who have table tennis knowledge and skill to be a part of the national team,” he said.

Mr. Lothian also urged the public to support the mission of the JPA and get involved.