Ten Maltese Table Tennis youngsters competing in Croatia
The Malta Table Tennis Association is sending ten youngsters to represent the Nation at the European Youth Table Tennis Championships being held in Croatia mid-July. Squads will be made up of Junior Boys, Junior Girls, Cadet Boys and one Cadet Girl, Gulia Calleja, who shall compete in the singles, doubles and mixed doubles competition.
Normally the organizers would stage one mega Championship but this year’s edition is being split into two due to covid – 19 measures. The youngsters shall travel to Varazdin, Croatia where they shall take part in teams, singles, doubles and mixed doubles events. Malta is being represented with a Boys squad and a Girls squad both of which shall be led by seasoned designated coaches, David Pace and Edward Baldachino. In 2016 David had led the Juniors Boys team in Zagreb while in 2018 Edward led the Junior Girl’s squad in Portugal. In a joint statement the Maltese coaches told this paper that “This is a very high-level competition, basically we shall compete against tomorrows best European senior athletes. The experience is one of a kind for our youngsters, it gives them drive and motivation to work harder and learn through observation. We are usually looking out for performance rather than outright victories but then depending on the draws we have enough experience to know that our youngsters can register wins. We also embrace these European championships because from day one up to the final day our athletes are continuously playing due to how the tournament is structured, this is of utmost importance because it’s an area which they lack” Edward and David are synonymous with the sport both as performance athletes and coaches, the MTTA has entrusted them once again while they remain committed to execute the best job possible.
When it comes to the Cadet squad (meaning under 15 athletes) here the team shall be guided by a fresh look Coach, Katia Mifsud. The MTTA Board of Directors decided that opportunities should be given to hard working and upcoming coaches where a Championship of this level will enhance and broaden their overall knowledge. Katia is also a personal coach to Rachael Mifsud who this season obtained very good results while playing for her Sicilian team in Enna. Rachael unfortunately could not make these Championships due to academic examinations.
The line up of the Maltese contingent is: Junior Boys Squad – James Vella Vidal, Conrad Puli, Sean Debono, Coach David Pace. Junior Girls Squad – Anthea Cutajar, May Zahra, Sabin Darmanin, Coach Edward Baldachino. Cadet Boys Squad – Luke Bonello, Luke Fenech, Matthew Cassar. Cadet Girl – Gulia Calleja, Coach Katia Mifsud.
This journal is also informed that preparation is underway and anybody who wishes to see the youngsters in action while training may do so for free by visiting the University Sports Pavalion on Friday evenings at 19:30.