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Al-Ahram Weekly 25 Nov. - 1 Dec. 1999 Issue No. 457 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 25 Nov. - 1 Dec. 1999 Issue No. 457
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters The ball gets bigger
By Abeer Anwar
One of the first things Adham Sharara, head of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), did when he took over his new job three months ago, was to change the size of the ball so that TV viewers could easily follow its path. It was an audacious decision, something akin to a FIFA idea not long ago to widen the goalmouth to allow more goals to be scored and thus inject new life into the game of football. FIFA has yet to make the goals bigger but the table tennis ball did indeed graduate to bigger things. The ball is now 40 millimetres in circumference, two millimetres more than the original.
Adham Sharara
Sharara, an Egyptian by birth with Canadian nationality, also has bigger ideas for Egypt and Africa. "I discovered that the game is widely played and has progressed in Europe and the US. So I decided why not Egypt," Sharara told the Al-Ahram Weekly on one of his few trips to Cairo. And indeed why not? After all, the Pharaohs were the first people to play the game. The Egyptian Federation helped found the ITTF in 1927. And Egyptian players, both male and female, have dominated the game in Africa and the Arab world ever since it became an official sport.
As a result of Sharara's determination to place Egypt more firmly on the table tennis map, one of the indoor halls at the Olympic Centre in Cairo will shortly become a centre for African players training in the sport. A sort of ping-pong workshop on a continental scale, if you like.
The arrangement calls for a one-year contract "after which we will evaluate the progress made," Sharara said. Egypt's Croatian coach, who will now have the dual job of training both the Egyptian national team and African aspirants, will get half his salary from the ITTF while Egypt will pick up the rest of the tab.
"We will also provide TV video tapes of international events and championships to a national TV station for free to increase the number of table tennis fans in Egypt and to let our players see world champions in action," Sharara added.
Sharara headed the Canadian Table Tennis Federation from 1994 until his new appointment. His selection as head of the sport globally was a surprise to him to say the least. As far as he knew, he had the backing of only Canada and the United States. He hadn't the faintest clue how the other 183 countries would vote. "So I sent them my ideas about spreading the game, ideas I had had for the past five years. I was amazed that I won."
Sharara, 46, was born in Egypt and immigrated to Canada at 15. He started playing table tennis at 12 by chance. "I was passing by Maadi Club when I saw a match being played." He stayed on to watch and was attracted by what he described as the powerful smashes and the skills the players employed.
In Canada, he lost contact with the sport. For two years, he forgot all about table tennis until he saw a number of tables at a school. That sight hit a nerve for he soon started playing again with his colleagues and, in the process, formed the first Canadian national team, which in future years went on to win several international tournaments.
At one point, Sharara was one of the best five players in Canada. His wife, a Canadian, was No 5 in the world. But at the relatively young age of 19, with many years ahead of him as a player, Sharara took the unusual decision of becoming a coach.
Since 1994, he has visited Egypt twice. "I am very happy to see my old friends. They are the young colleagues that I used to play against in competitions."
On his latest visit, Sharara met Minister of Youth Aliyiddin Helal, who will provide the federation with 3,000 table tennis tables for free. In turn, Sharara will distribute the tables throughout Africa.
He says Egyptians Ahmed Saleh and Sayed Lasheen could be world-class but that they first must give the sport top priority. That means putting their studies in the backseat. "When young, Egyptian players are talented and win their fair share of titles and medals. The drop starts when they get older because they must study and train at the same time and the two don't mix." What is the difference between Egyptians and Chinese, the world champions? "In China," Sharara said, "you can find table tennis tables everywhere, even made of cement, in alleys and streets. So the sport is everywhere." Obviously, Sharara would like a little bit of China in Egypt.
