Mentees were selected through an online application process, where more than 240 applicants applied for the program, through which 37 mentees from 25 Member Associations (TUN, SEN, GHA, EGY, ZIM, ANG, GUY, GRN, BRA, ECU, ARG, MEX, CRC, COL, TNT, CHN, NEB, IRI, MMR, IND, SRL, NZL, PNG, AUS, TGA) and 4 continents were selected.

The program offered 3 different mentoring areas: coaching, match officiating, and match analytics. The mentees had a great opportunity to learn from experienced mentors. Some had the chance to prepare their athletes for major tournaments, others had the chance to prepare for the umpire advanced rules examination, and others were preparing for the future International Referee Schools. Overall, the experience supported the mentees in gaining knowledge and advancing to the next level of their careers.

Coaching

The Chinese History maker Hou Yingchao became the oldest-ever China national champion at the age of 39 in 2019 when he won the national championship 19 years after last winning the event. In 2022, he took part in the Mentorship program as a coach mentee and was mentored by Liu Yajnjun, the Austrian Women’s national team coach. They worked closely through a 4-month long mentoring experience, where Liu shared his 26 years of coaching experience with his mentee.

Gdara Hmam, national coach for Tunisia and mentee in last year’s program had an outstanding 2022,  winning 2 gold medals in the WTT Youth Contender Tunis with the Tunisian rising star Ella Saidi. He also secured an U15 gold medal and a U19 Silver medal with the Women’s teams in the African Championships. Through this, the Mentorship Program and his mentor Jean-Claude Decret (FRA) supported him to prepare his athletes for the several international championships throughout the second half of the year, especially the preparation for the World Youth Championships in Tunis.

Jean-Claude also guided Mamadou Salif from Senegal, who is involved in a national provisional committee in Senegal. They worked together to develop a strategy to develop table tennis, young athletes and new coaches in the different regions of Senegal. Their development strategy was important to support the next Youth Olympic Games 2026 where their goal is to develop the infrastructure for table tennis in several provinces.

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Match Analytics

The match analytics area was introduced for the first time in the 2022 cycle of the Mentorship Program and was delivered through our partner Stupa Analytics. 9 mentees from 3 continents were matched with 4 mentors from Stupa Analytics who introduced them to data requirements and different techniques of the match analytics area.

– Fatemeh Keyvani (IRI), mentee

– Saurav Basotia, Creative Media and Marketing Manager Stupa Analytics, mentor

Para TT Coaching

Para Table Tennis was introduced for the 2^nd consecutive year in the Mentorship Program, where two PTT Coaches from Asia joined the program as mentees, and were mentored by the Argentina PTT national coach Alejandra Gabaglio.

Match Officiating

Cross-cultural exchange of experience was one of the main aims of the 2022 Mentorship Program, especially for match officials, where mentees from Africa and Asia were matched with very experienced mentors from Europe in the areas of Umpiring and refereeing, where they had the chance to discuss many aspects and get proper guidance to advance to the next level of their career as future International Referees or Blue Badge Umpires.

– Tina Crotta, WTT Para Events and Match Officials Manager, mentor

The 2022 Mentorship Program concluded with mentees’ evaluation sessions which allow them to identify their strengths and areas for improvement so that they can continue working on their development further.

Following a successful 2022, we look forward to having even more fruitful collaborations in 2023!