On Africa's Atlantic coast, Ghana's capital city of Accra recently hosted the West Africa Regional Hopes Week and Challenge. This ITTF-sponsored event, part of its High Performance and Development program, focuses on developing talent among junior players by providing international coaching and competition. The international coaching in this case was provided by Egypt's Hisham Ismail, who described the progress which had been made in Ghana: "The Ghana Table Tennis Association has established training centers in ten regions in the country, especially for players under 12 years old; they are working with grass root players in order to create a new generation to compete in the future,” said Ismail. Coaching included physical fitness training, as well as service and receive, footwork, and multi-ball drills. These exercises were reinforced with educational debriefings focusing on refining technique and tactical thinking. In order to elevate the level of competition, talented juniors from Nigeria provided the international competition. They did not disappoint, with Akeem Sadiat Alimat and Okanlawon Usman Ishola winning first place in the girls' and boys' championships, respectively. With the full support and attention of Mawuko Afadzinu, President of the Ghana Table Tennis Association, the program was a resounding success. With the African Youth, Cadet and Junior Championships scheduled for next April in Accra, hopes are indeed riding high in Ghana.

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