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0 Former African champion and three-time World Championships participant, Esther Lamptey, has commended the Black Loopers for qualifying for this year’s World Table Tennis Championships Finals in London, describing the achievement as a positive step for women’s table tennis in Ghana.
Reacting to the qualification, Lamptey expressed pride in the team’s progress and attributed the success to strong leadership within the association.
“I feel great and proud to see the female team climbing the ladder of success to reach this achievement. This is because we have a good leader and I would like to take this opportunity to say a very big thank you to the Executives of the Ghana Table Tennis Association for putting in such hard work for table tennis in Ghana, Africa, and the world, Esther Lamptey said.
Speaking on what the Black Loopers must do to have a successful outing at the championships, she stressed the importance of proper preparation.
“The team needs to be in camp to train and play matches with both local and international players.”
Touching on Ghana’s group at the championships, which includes Puerto Rico, Austria, and Angola, Lamptey acknowledged the quality of the opposition and urged the team to remain focused and confident.
“With Puerto Rico and Austria, I will say they are very strong and experienced teams. They participate in different competitions, both local and international, and they camp early ahead of major tournaments. We must prepare well, stay disciplined, and approach the matches with confidence.”
On Angola, she challenged the Black Loopers to approach the fixture with determination.
“With Angola, we must repeat our recent victory over them to prove that we are better and to justify that we qualified,” she said.
Her message of encouragement to the team was emphatic: “I will encourage them to play their best against any team they meet. They should go on the table with the aim to win. Names don’t play table tennis. They should put names and countries aside and give their best.”
She further highlighted discipline and learning as key ingredients for success at the tournament.
“They should be disciplined both on and off the table. If they are not playing, they should watch matches and learn tactics, techniques, service and return of service, different styles of strokes, and footwork. They can learn a lot from watching. They should also have fun and make good friends.”
Lamptey’s advice is backed by a distinguished career in the sport. She won the African Championship in Yaoundé, Cameroon, in 1980, and represented Ghana at three World Championships — Pyongyang, North Korea (1979), Novi Sad, Yugoslavia (1981), and Eindhoven, the Netherlands (1999).
She also won multiple medals at the African Games, including silver in both singles and doubles in Algiers 1978.
Beyond her playing career, she has continued to serve the sport as a coach and international umpire, remaining closely connected to the development of table tennis in Ghana and abroad.
The writers are members of the Ghana Table Tennis Association Media Team
