(by: Kef Noorani)
In January 2023, I had the incredible opportunity to participate in the 2022 ITTF World Hopes Week & Challenge in Hennebont, France. The event brought together the top 20 U12 table tennis players from around the world for a week-long camp and tournament. I was very excited to have qualified for this amazing event based on my performance at the 2022 America’s Hopes Table Tennis Championship in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic where I got the silver medal. On the women’s side, Tashiya Piyadasa and Irene Yeoh also qualified based on their performance in Santo Domingo and would also come to Hennebont.
My parents and little sister came to the airport to drop me off. I was quite sad at that moment because I was going away for almost two weeks yet I was also excited because it was my first trip to France and I had been practicing my French. I got on a flight from SFO to Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris. From Paris we would take another flight to get to Nantes. Then, we had to take a bus from Nantes to Hennebont.
Upon arriving in Hennebont at around 9 pm, we had dinner with one of my friends from Saudi Arabia. The next day would be the first practice of the camp. The morning practice started from 9 am until 12 pm. As I first walked in the hall I could already see it was a very professional hall. With more than twenty tables and plenty of bleachers to sit in, the first practice was about to start. Instead of training the people running the camp said we would play matches. We started off the matches and you could clearly see the top players. The world No. 2 U13 from Italy Faso, Faraz from Iran, Emmanuel from Colombia, Titoun from France, and Miroslav from Bulgaria. As the practice matches ended I had finished on table 2 of 10. I felt happy that I had done much better than expected; however, I was struck by the level of talent and dedication of the other players. The next training session started at 4pm and ended at 7:15. We would then go back and eat dinner at the hotel. We would repeat this process everyday for 5 days except for the second day.
In the afternoon of the second day we went to a nearby museum and learned about the history of France. We also saw a horse show which smelled a lot. As the camp was wrapping up and transitioning in the tournament I only had one question about the camp. It was why we didn’t do any service practice. We had done every possible drill, but no service practice. Nonetheless, the end-of-the-camp tournament was what everyone was talking about the entire week. The format was two groups of ten where the top six advanced. We’d then play single elimination until only the top eight players were left. I was quite nervous because, unlike the USATT Team Trials, the draw mattered a lot in this format.
Each match was incredibly competitive, with players from all over the world bringing their best game to the table. In my group I finished 3 losing to Faraz from Iran and Faso from Italy. As well as losing to Cruz from the Philippines 14-12 in the fifth. I had to play the round of 16 next and that was against Guluzade from Azerbaijan. His forehand was his main strength, but he didn’t have much of a backhand. I knew this because we had practiced many times in the camp. The first game I lost a close 11-9. Although I was down 1-0, I knew I could beat this kid and that we were similar in level. The next three games I won all under five points. This meant I had made the top 8 which was called the hopes squad. My next match would be against the 4th seed from Bulgaria. He was a lefty with a strong backhand punch and very spiny forehand. I started the match with a very big lead taking the first game and going up 7-2 in the second. I didn’t think I was losing focus and just brushed it off thinking I would still win this game as he started catching up. I ended up losing that game 11-9 and the next game 11-8. I started adjusting my strategies and started playing differently from my old style as it seemed nothing else was working. I won the 4th game and headed into the 5th game confidently. Although he started adjusting to my new strategy and figured it out, taking a 6-2 lead in the 5 set. I called time-out thinking if I should go back to my old strategy and decided on switching. But the pressure got to me and I started missing easy smashes and loops. It was like my feet just stopped moving. I sadly lost the match, but knew what I had to work on when I returned home.
Next I had to play the placement matches for positions 5-8. My match was against Titoun from France. I went up 2-0 against him and was playing perfectly. At 9-9 in the third I completely blew it missing two easy forehands. I was very mad about losing that game. I knew if I stayed mad I would lose for sure. Even though I calmed down I ended up losing the match 3-2 11-8. Although I was very frustrated I decided to focus on the last match to try and get 7th place. I had to play my fellow friend from Canada named Sanuka and won. I was happy to have ended the tournament on a win and ended up finishing 7th out of 20. Faso from Italy ended up beating Faraz from Iran in the final with a 3-1 victory.
Although the tournament didn’t meet my expectations I was still happy to make new friends and form connections with other players from around the world. We spent time off the court exploring Hennebont and getting to know each other better. I am still happy to have made the hopes squad as it has given me many opportunities including going to Singapore in March 2023 for something similar to World Hopes.
Looking back on my experience at the 2022 ITTF World Hopes Week & Challenge, I had a lot of regrets about how I played In the tournament, but also very happy I got to compete in the Challenge and of course, to make the World Hopes Squad and qualifying to attend the Hopes Squad Follow Up Activity. It was an incredible opportunity to learn from the best coaches and players in the world, push myself to my limits, and form connections with other passionate table tennis players and coaches. I am excited to see where this opportunity will take me in the future, and I am grateful for the experience and memories that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
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