Sweden youth table tennis team players and officials during the training camp at Aspire Academy.
DOHA: Sweden’s national youth table tennis team have commended their week-long training camp at Aspire Academy.
The four players spent time working with Aspire Academy’s Head Table Tennis Coach, Peter Karlsson, enjoying the Academy’s world-class facilities and training with its student-athletes.
It was a welcome return to Aspire Academy for Elias Sjögren, who is Sweden’s top-ranked under-18 player.
“My time here last year was really helpful, and it’s really fun to try to practice in a different environment from the one I’m used to,” he explained.
“I was here last year and liked it very much, and so I wanted to come back and continue my development.”
“The facilities and conditions are excellent. It’s great to have so much support, such as a warm-up trainer and then three trainers for the technical side of table tennis, as well as someone to help ensure the tables are clean.”
“Also, having the tables and training area so close to the school and the accommodation must be another big help for the players here at Aspire, so you have all you need to become a good table tennis player.”
He was also full of praise for the Aspire Academy student-athletes he faced and trained during his stay.
“I really like the variation, right-handed and left-handed players, ones with different styles. It helps playing top-class players with those variations because when you play internationally, you will face all different types of players.”
For his part, Peter Karlsson explained the visit was also of great benefit to the Aspire Academy student-athletes.
“It was a great opportunity for our student-athletes to continue their progression and development by gaining experience with exposure to top international players,” the coach said.
“From our perspective as coaches, we gleaned a lot of valuable information about what level our student-athletes are, and it helps us to identify the areas we need to focus on as we go forward.”
The visit also helped three of the student-athletes, Ahmed Korani, Yousef Abdulla, and Essa El Haddad, with their preparations for the Arab Table Tennis Championships in Casablanca, Morocco, between September 11 and 18.
