Table tennis coach calls for exposure
Kabelo Boranabi | Saturday May 28, 2022 06:00
The BDF Table Tennis Club player/coach, assisted by Boykie Selerio, will oversee the training of both the men's and women’s teams. Their concerted effort [Matlhatsi and Selerio] saw them win two medals in the men's and women’s singles at the Botswana Table Tennis Association (BTTA) regional tournament held in Gaborone last year. This time around, they are hoping for better fortunes at the AUSC Region 5 games. Speaking to Mmegi Sport, Matlhatsi bemoaned the national team’s lack of participation in continental and international competitions. In 2016, women’s top-ranked player, Tshepiso Rebatenne competed in a continental tournament and that was at the ITTF Africa Senior Championships held in Morocco.
Five years later, junior players, Sean Dekop and Game Kebodiwang were sent to the African Senior Championships held in Yaoundé, Cameroon. “I think our main problem is probably funding because we can only afford to participate in regional tournaments. We do not take our players to these international tournaments on a regular basis.
The last player to compete continentally was Tshepiso and I think she funded her own trip. Look what she brought back, she was ranked in the Top 16 in Africa at the time and you can see from the way she plays that she is steps ahead of other players. I think if we have our players competing in these big tournaments, they can improve and thus bring better results,” Matlhatsi said. ‘Pat’ [Matlhatsi] is an ITTF Level 1 coaching licence-holder and has been an assistant coach at BDF Club for four years. He says he relishes the challenge to lead the national team for a regional assignment. “It is a challenge but it is welcome. I have been coaching at the club level and I am used to working with some of the players in the national team. But the challenge in the national team is that we deal with different characters that you are not used to working with, some will absorb your training quicker than others. However, I think by the time we leave for the tournament, the team will be ready,” he said.
Matlhatsi has been playing ping-pong at the highest level in the country for more than two decades. At the age of 37, Matlhatsi said he is not ready to hang up the paddle and he is open to assuming the national team coaching role on a long-term basis. “To be honest, I had thought of retiring but the younger players advised otherwise. They feel I am at par with them since I am currently ranked number five. I would be open to taking the job on a more permanent basis because I think we need a long-term plan for the national team.
As coaches come and go, the coaching methods and philosophy differ so I think we need to have some bit of stability in the national team.” Tirelo Tshipinare will captain the men’s team that includes Tshenolo Mooketsi, Bakang Maloka, Thapelo Molefi and Kola Modisaotsile. The women’s team is made up of Rebatenne, Constance Kuswani, Tsholofelo Gaokgalemelwe, Olorato Ramagapu, and captain Kebodiwang.