The newly formed ITTF Education & Training Department has agreed
terms with former Swedish international Peter Karlsson to work on an
individual basis with a selected group of top level juniors, supported
through the ITTF/Olympic Solidarity project: With the Future in Mind.
Karlsson,
who will celebrate his 40th birthday in May this year, has signed a two
year agreement with the International Table Tennis Federation. He will
lead a series of high intensity training camps in his home city of
Falkenberg, Sweden.
The first activity in the "Close to Karlsson" project is planned for
late May, whilst the bulk of the training camps will be scheduled as a
special preparation for major ITTF events; notably the ITTF Junior
Circuit Finals in Tokyo in October and prior to the ITTF World Junior
Championships in Cartagena, Colombia in late November.
Career
Peter
Karlsson, who retired from the international scene in 2006, was for
many years an integral member of the Swedish Men’s Team that succeeded
at the World Championships in 1989, 1991, 1993 and 2000.
Also,
he was crowned World Men’s Doubles champion with Tomas Von Scheele in
Chiba, Japan in 1993 and won the Men’s Singles title at the European
Championships in Stuttgart 2000.
Furthermore, Peter Karlsson participated in three consecutive Olympic Games from 1996 to 2004.
Individual Basis
In
his new role with the International Table Tennis Federation, the Swede
will work on an individual basis with players for a period of sixty
days a year.
He will work exclusively with a small selected
group of Priority `A’ athletes identified and supported through the
"ITTF With the Future in Mind" project.
Initially the targeted
players are Iranian left-hander Noshad Alamiyan, Egypt’s Omar Assar,
who is in his final junior year, Marcelo Guirre from Paraguay, India’s
Soumyajit Ghosh and the young 15 year old Tunisian rising star Adem
Hmam.
Accelerate
"The
agreement with Peter Karlsson clearly allows the ITTF to accelerate a
group of specially gifted talents from new and interesting table tennis
markets", said said Mikael Andersson the ITTF Director of Education.
"These athletes have already proved that they are competitive at junior
level and I believe that with improved coaching and a more intensified
and structured international calendar; noticeable progress will be made
and may well be in evidence at the London Olympic Games 2012."
Challenge
Throughout his career Peter Karlsson has always responded to a challenge and he is ready to respond to the new challenge.
"I
have been fortunate enough to be handed an exciting group of players
whom on occasions have seen in action already; I will do my very best
to make a difference for these young athletes", said Karlsson. "The set
up and logistical support offered by the long time Swedish Elite club
Falkenbergs BTK is also very crucial for the success of this project; I
am grateful for their support and enthusiastic approach."
Female Equivalent
The
International Table Tennis Federation will now launch a worldwide
search for a suitable coach to offer the same exclusive guidance for
identified female talents.
"We will explore other opportunities
for our female talents and look for longer training camps to be staged
in Asia as it clearly is a proven fact that the Asian countries for the
moment are far superior the rest of the world when it comes to female
table tennis", concluded Mikael Andersson.
It is a fact that is
very clear and highlighted at recent ITTF Junior Circuit and ITTF Pro
Tour events; the female players from Asia were a class above the rest.
Source: www.ittf.com
