New ping pong scheme launched in UAE

Dubai: June 21 will be a huge day for table tennis in the UAE.

As Dubai Sports World returns to the Dubai World Trade Centre, table tennis will be one of the sports on offer in a fresh initiative called ‘Ping Pong Dubai’ which will last all summer.

Spanning 28,000 square metres of indoor space, the Dubai Sports World will occupy the Shaikh Saeed Halls 1 and 2 and the multi-purpose Trade Centre Arena, and the Dubai Indoor Football Championship will occupy Shaikh Rashid Hall.

In addition to the various venues dedicated to football, rugby, Aussie Rules football, badminton, squash, basketball, tennis, skateboarding and a BMX park and running track, there will be an entertainment zone featuring 12 table tennis tables.

The tables are a new initiative which may one day see the sport become as popular in the UAE as it is in China. The initiative was launched last month by Rashid Abdul Hamid and Rashid Mohammad, members of the UAE table tennis team, as well as the Chinese national squad who are participating at the World Table Tennis Championships in Paris.

Ping Pong Dubai is a non-profit venture between the UAE Table Tennis Association, Dubai Sports Council and Falcon and Associates, which facilitated the Chinese National Table Tennis Team sponsorship.

The aim of the initiative is plain and simple: Increase grassroots participation in the UAE so that the national squad can benefit. “Table tennis has this rich tradition of being a sport for a cross-section of people regardless of their age, ability or fitness. We want everyone, young or the not so young, to come and play free of cost and be part of Ping Pong Dubai,” Rashid Abdul Hamid told Gulf News.

“Ping Pong Dubai is a community initiative with a simple aim — to encourage people from all walks of life to pick up a bat and discover that table tennis is a fun and social way to be more active. We have an exciting calendar of accessible events and activities, which we hope will inspire people to get involved and help stimulate the sport’s growth,” he added.

The Dubai Sports World will be held in partnership with the Dubai Sports Council and Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment with support from Dubai Municipality, Roads and Transport Authority, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority and Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Now in its third year, the Dubai Sports World is the largest indoor summer sports event in the Middle East offering residents a wide range of sports and family entertainment from June 21 to August 21 from 8am to midnight, and until 3am during Ramadan.

“Table tennis is a fun game and we need to get this message through to the people. I get a feeling we are doing something special for this sport here,” he said.