The presentation of team flags by young Tunisians added glamour to the occasion, flagbearers were regal in their flowing traditional Tunisian attire.

Undoubtedly, the icing on the cake was the choreography presentation from an Ivorian group which thrilled the fans with their synchronised display mounted against a background modern and traditional music.

In his welcome address, Lotfi Guerfel, President of Tunisia Table Tennis Federation, thanked both the International Table Tennis Federation and the African Table Tennis Federation for selecting Tunisia to stage the continent’s most important tournaments of the year, the ITTF-Africa Top 16 Cup and African Singles and Mixed Doubles Olympic Qualification Tournament.

“We are grateful to ITTF and ATTF for selecting Tunisia to host these events and we believe this will help the sport to grow. We welcome all our top stars from all over Africa. We hope you will enjoy your stay in the beautiful city of Tunis.” Lotfi Guerfel

Meanwhile, Khaled El-Salhy, the President of African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF) was grateful to the government of Tunisia for agreeing to host these important events.

“I must commend the government and people of Tunisia for their warm hospitality; for us at ATTF, we hope that our top stars will enjoy every moment of their stay in Tunis.” Khaled El-Salhy

The ITTF Africa Top 16 Cup is a qualifying event for the ITTF World Cup tournaments; the Olympic Qualifying Tournament provides an opportunity to gain places in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.