THE Zimbabwe Table Tennis Union (ZTTU) are on course to meet their fundraising target after a dinner at Ma top Harare hotel on Friday night, giving the association a timely boost ahead of the Southern Africa Regional Table Tennis Championships in Harare.
ZTTU president Noah Ferenando said the dinner had exceeded expectations, with the union's budget for the games pegged at $70,000.
"We're looking at $20 000 which is above an excess to what we wanted," Ferenando said.
"I cannot tell from the head, but from the concessions that we have agreed upon and all the help that we have gotten in terms of pledges that have come through I am sure we are on course."
He said a full account of funds raised would be released once the union's treasury completed its reconciliation, and praised the response from the corporate sector and Chinese business community in Harare.
Ferenando described the build-up to the championships as a difficult one, saying the union had shifted its ambitions beyond mere participation.
"It was not an easy road," he said.
"Right now we are not only looking at a participative team but rather advocating for podium finish."
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He credited head coach Liping Wang, whom the union brought in for his international experience, with lifting standards.
He pointed to recent results as evidence of progress, citing podium finishes in Botswana and a silver and bronze medal haul in singles and doubles by a player under Wang's tutelage at the CUCSA Games, where some squad members competed under university colours.
Ferenando named Botswana, South Africa and Angola as the toughest opponents at the regional championships, but said Zimbabwe held the advantage of playing at home.
"We have fans that are coming in their numbers to support us and we are not going to play jet-lagged like others that are going to travel," he said.
He added that the team would move into camp early in the week to acclimatise to the competition venue.
Wang said preparations had intensified in the final days before the tournament, with players training from 4pm to 10pm on weekdays and 8am to 4pm over the weekend.
He said his focus had been on modernising Zimbabwe's approach to the game, building players' looping and attacking play off the serve, footwork, and forehand power, techniques he described as in line with current world table tennis trends.
The head coach singled out the men's team core as players who had worked on small-triangle looping and attacking from both corners and around the net.
"We try to let all our players use more forehand to attack, because forehand has more power," Wang said.
"We are not focused on this tournament, we are focused on Zimbabwe's table tennis future."
