Ghana’s youth table tennis contingent now knows exactly what stands between them and a place on the podium at the 2026 ITTF-Africa Youth Championships, after Association released the official group draws for the tournament’s four team categories on the eve of competition in Accra.
The Ghana Table Tennis Association (GTTA), hosting the Africa showpiece at the Borteyman Sports Complex, will see its Under-15 and Under-19 sides square off against familiar African heavyweight Egypt in every single grouping, setting the stage for what promises to be a difficult task for the host.
The Groupings
23 countries are converging at the Borteyman Sports Complex for a ten-day event that doubles as a qualifier for the World Youth Championships in Turkey later this year. Finalists in both the Under-19 and Under-15 team categories will punch their tickets to the global stage, raising the stakes for every tie on the draw sheet.
The Youth Championships were officially launched in Accra as part of a week-long festival of competition and development running alongside the ITTF-Africa Hopes Week and Challenge, held at The Dome, University of Ghana, Legon, and the Borteyman Sports Complex.
As hosts, the GTTA fielded a nine-player squad across the age categories, with the association’s leadership describing the month’s programme as a “triple delight” combining the Hopes Week, the Youth Championships, and the Africa Cup.
The Youth Championships arrive on the back of a successful ITTF-Africa Hopes Week and Challenge, which concluded at The Dome earlier in July. That development programme brought 12 African countries for six days of elite training and competition, with Uganda’s Joseph Sebatindira successfully defending his Under-12 boys’ title.
The top two boys and top two girls from the Hopes event earned qualification to represent Africa at the World Hopes Week and Challenge in Sheffield, United Kingdom, in October.