42 Players and a First: Table Tennis Arrives at Zambia's National Youth Games

The Debut

Eunice Hanyuma is 17. She started playing table tennis in 8th grade because she found it at school and thought it looked interesting. Four years later, she's standing at Zambia's National Youth Games, representing Southern Province, competing against players from across the country.

She didn't expect to be here. "I never knew I would make it to this level."

This is the first time table tennis has been included in the National Youth Games. 42 players from across Zambia's provinces showed up. The organizers expected 80. For a sport making its national debut, 42 was enough.

The First Time

The National Youth Games is a multi-sport event in its second edition, bringing together over 2,000 athletes aged 9 to 17 from every corner of Zambia. Football, athletics, and the usual names were already there. This year, table tennis joined them.

For Collins Mwenda, ZTTA's head of technical, the inclusion was the point. Not the number of players. Not the results. The fact that table tennis was on the program at all.

Players qualified through provincial competitions. The idea is simple: decentralize selection so that talent from rural areas has a pathway to the national stage, not just Lusaka-based players. In practice, inconsistent implementation across provinces and late communications meant some selections were rushed. The system is still being built.

But it produced players. Traditional strongholds like Njase Girls, Macha Girls, and St. Canisius continue to produce talent. Southern Province sent a team of girls who became the best in their inter-schools competition. Eastern Province is emerging. The International School of Lusaka has hired a ZTTA youth coach.

The talent is scattered. The tournament is supposed to bring it together.

Two Girls from Southern Province

Eunice trains at school. Two and a half hours a day, three times a week. When school closed, she kept going at a local sports club. Her goal going in was first position.

The venue was exciting. Lots of people. High energy. She won her way to the semi-finals and then hit the wall at the semifinal qualifier. She finished second.

"I felt happy and sad because we came out second position even though I wanted first position." Her family didn't come. They watched online.

Agness Fisonga is 16. Same province, same path. She started in 8th grade, decided to give it a try, and trained at school every day for three years. She was nervous arriving at the venue. Her toughest moment was trying to beat a national player.

She got what she trained for.

"Table tennis has changed me from what I was to who I am today — a national player."

Both girls made friends with players from other provinces. Both want to compete internationally. Both train at school because that's the only place available to them in Southern Province.

The Coach

Their coach, Mr. Malambo, was selected to lead Southern Province's team. He coaches at school level, not full-time. He started preparing the girls at the beginning of the school year and brought four of them to the Games.

His strategy between matches: watch how other teams play and identify their weak points. His proudest and most challenging moment were the same: playing Lusaka Province. His players were scared. The capital carries a reputation.

What would he change if he could do it again? Prepare his players psychologically. The technique was there. The mental readiness wasn't.

His biggest challenge as a youth coach: very few places to play after school, especially in Southern Province. The tables exist at school. When school ends, access ends with it.

What the Games Are Building

The National Youth Games aren't just a competition. They're a feeder. Top performers advance to the National Youth Championships, which is the final selection for the Region 5 Youth Games. The best Under-13 players are recommended for the ITTF African Youth Championships and the ITTF Hopes Week Challenge, a global pathway for young prodigies.

Two have already been identified: a 9-year-old boy who won bronze in singles and a 12-year-old girl who took silver.

ZTTA's technical committee isn't just looking at who wins. The goal is to find the players who can grow, not just the ones who are already ahead.

There are no cash prizes. Medals only. The real reward, Collins says, is national recognition and the chance to represent Zambia. After the Games, top performers enter a monthly round-robin league. The structure is designed to keep players competing year-round, not just showing up once for a weekend tournament.

Collins describes table tennis as "high-speed chess." ZTTA advocates for its inclusion in schools because it stimulates neuroplasticity, directly improving academic performance and attendance. But the ambition goes further. The federation sees the sport as a tool for keeping youth engaged, reducing street crime, and building community pride.

The evidence exists. John Tembo, a community player, used his desire to play table tennis at university to push himself through school. He ended up representing Zambia at the World University Championships in Germany in 2025.

Parental support is growing but uneven. Families from private schools often embrace sports for holistic development. Others remain skeptical. ZTTA is developing parent-engagement workshops to highlight educational and career pathways in table tennis, including scholarships and officiating certifications.

The Reality

There is no permanent national training center. ZTTA pays for private venues, an unsustainable model where players can be displaced at any time. There is a critical shortage of ITTF-standard tables, nets, flooring, and surrounds. Equipment is expensive and difficult to source.

For the Games specifically, compressed timelines limited school participation. Venue presentation was inadequate. These are not complaints. These are the conditions of a sport still establishing itself in a country where football and athletics take most of the attention, sponsorship, and media coverage.

The association knows what they would build if resources existed: structured qualifying tournaments from district to national level, provincial talent centers with standardized coaching, mobile equipment kits for schools, and a permanent home where players can train without being displaced. ZTTA is also planning a "Youth Games Legacy Program" to distribute equipment to participating schools after the event.

The vision is detailed. The funding is not.

From 42 to What's Possible

42 players competed in table tennis's debut at the National Youth Games. The target was 80. The gap isn't about talent. A 9-year-old won bronze. A 12-year-old took silver. Two girls from Southern Province discovered they could compete at a level they never imagined possible. A coach learned that forehands aren't enough, next time, he's preparing minds.

Eunice wants to go international. Agness says the sport changed who she is. Both of them will keep playing.

Table tennis arrived at Zambia's National Youth Games. The number was 42. The pipeline is being built, one province, one school, one table at a time.