GIS dominate Ghana Table Tennis

Tennis News of Monday, 10 February 2014

Source: Sammy Heywood Okine

The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) boasts of the best Table Tennis players in Ghana.

After the Top 8 competition sponsored by Stanbic Bank was over, yours truly searched deep and discovered that the Immigration Service had been one of the sports friendly organisations in Ghana.

They have offered employment to a number of sports men and women not only in Table Tennis, but Football where they have teams for male and female as well as other sporting disciplines.

In Table Tennis, the players under their payroll include Derek Abrefa, Felix Lartey, Emmanuel Commey, Cynthia Kwabie and Linda Annor. All these players are members of the national team, the Black Loopers who are training and preparing for the next Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.

The Ghana Armed Forces is represented by Celya Baah-Danso of the Army, Bernice Borquaye of the Navy and others who are trying to make it to the Top 8 ranking. Beatrice Gyasi also comes from the Ghana Police Service.

Derek Abrefa and Felix Lartey have dominated the Ghana Table Tennis rankings for some time. They have been honoured by the Sports Writers Association and gained some media attraction.

In the field of Athletics, the GIS can boast of Emmanuel Dasor, the current fast man in Ghana.

After observing the players at training and in competition, one can boldly say the standard of Table Tennis has improved tremendously, and the players are willing to go the further miles.

Young Emmanuel Commey was a determined player aiming at the top and he did it in grand style.

He has made the challenge very keen and there are more to expect from the players.

Mawuko Afadzinu, Acting President of the Ghana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) believes they have the potential to be continental champions and only waiting for the Commonwealth Games to stage his case.

He said the players want to make a mark and raise the game to the level of football, though it would take some time.

“The top players work with the security forces, but they play Table Tennis most, and that is what they do,” he said.

The patron of the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) and Communications /Public Relations Manager of Stanbic Bank commended the media for supporting the players and making the game popular.