Branton Matondo
Table tennis fanatic Kudakwashe Madoro who coaches his 13 year-old son Trust Madoro has lamented on lack of sponsorship and investment in the sport, a feat that has pushed him to sacrifice and squeeze self funds to propel his child’s talent.
Trust a grade seven pupil at Chancellor Primary School in Mutare has 39 medals (29 gold, 9 silver and 1 bronze) clinched at local and regional tournaments.
Just like every sporting code classification of age groups is a chance for players to showcase their talent against same old opponents but for young Trust it’s the other way round.
He has featured in the under 15 and 19 clusters but still winning the matches.
Speaking to TellZim News Kudakwashe who has been in the crux of table tennis since 1987, said that it’s tough for him to fund his son who has attracted attention regionally and internationally.
“Self-funding is costly looking at the fact that we need standard kits (shorts, golf t-shirts, caps, socks, takkies, tracksuit, towels and bag), affiliation and registration fees which is mandatory, transport in times of tournaments, food, refreshments. It now becomes really tough sourcing accommodation fees when attending tournaments around the country and outside, “said Kudakwashe.
Trust started his career at an early age of 8.
One of his first tournaments was Manicaland closed tourney held on the March 25, 2017 at Mutare Teachers’ College (MTC) where he clinched a gold medal in the under 10 cluster.
From then on, he featured in Zim Open tournaments and Provincial Open Tournaments.
The major highlight of his career so far is a tournament held in the Zambian capital Lusaka. He competed against competitors from five regional countries (Zambia, Malawi, Kenya, Tanzania and Zimbabwe) winning the only Zimbabwean medal, a silver medal in the under 13 cluster.
“Trust has been invited to feature at a tournament in China but due to the unavailability of funds, it’s impossible,” added Kudakwashe.
He added that the state of table tennis in Zimbabwe is affected by absence of sponsorship whereby mainstream sports outshine others.
“Manicaland and Zimbabwe table tennis is growing well but the greatest challenge is that there are no sponsors and you have to sponsor yourself even when going outside the country regardless that you are an affiliate to Zimbabwe Table Tennis Union (ZTTU) and Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC). Again there is no monetary prize for winners hence the need for great motivation for this sport to grow to greater heights,” said Kudakwashe.
Meanwhile Manicaland open table tennis tournament which is a national ranked tourney roars from November 26-27, 2022 at Mutare Girls high.
Trust will be playing in the under 16.
