Cottonera SC to host 250 young talents

Some of the world's most promising table tennis players will be in Malta over the next 10 days to take part in the ISF World School Sport Championships at the Cottonera Sports Complex between March 28 and April 4.

Around 250 players from 19 countries will be competing in this tournament which is being organised for the first time by the Malta Student Sport Federation (MSSF) following its affiliation with the International School Sport Federation (ISF).

"This is by far one of the biggest championships ever hosted in Malta," MSSF president David Azzopardi told a news conference. "China, the world's leading nation in table-tennis, is sending over a group of players from the Shanghai school which, over the years, has produced the country's best players in table tennis.

"For the Maltese players this will surely be a valuable experience."

Malta will be fielding eight players with Steve Bugeja, James Dawson, Daniel Portelli and Daniel Vella forming Malta's line-up in the team competition while Jessica Pace, Marcus Portelli, Dario Portelli and Chris Attard will play in the singles.

In the team event, Malta has been drawn in Group A together with Bulgaria, Italy, Poland and Slovakia.

Azzopardi said that the MSSF has plans to host more ISF competitions in Malta and a delegation from the world's governing body is coming over to inspect all sporting venues with the possibility of staging similar competitions in other sport in 2012.

Parliamentary Secretary for Youth and Sport, Clyde Puli, in his first meeting with the sporting media since his appointment, said the government was committed to promoting Malta as the ideal sports destination.

"The hosting of such a prestigious competition is very important for the government to project Malta as an ideal venue for sporting events," Puli said.

Also present for yesterday's news conference at the Cottonera Sports Complex was Joe Borg Cardona, the president of the Malta Table Tennis Federation (MTTF). He said that these championships will bolster the MTTF's efforts to increase the popularity of table tennis in schools.