Players and officials, dignitaries and fans of table tennis were treated to a full fiesta of Rwandan traditional culture at the opening ceremony of the 2024 ITTF Africa Cup, which took off on Sunday, May 12, at the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital city.
The Indinze Cultural Troupe treated the audience to rich presentations of the Imihamirizo and Umushayayo cultural dances, both of which are of ancient origins, featuring male and female performers
Imihamirizo is a Rwandan traditional dance from the time of the first king of Urwandurundi. It is performed at every important event across the country. The Umushayayo dance is the common dance of women. Comparable to ballet, it displays the purity, goodness, grace and the radiant beauty of the Rwandan woman.
The cultural dances were well applauded by the appreciative audience and heralded in two of the biggest table tennis tournaments in Africa – the Africa Cup and the 2024 Paris Olympic Qualifiers.
Speaking at the event, President, Rwanda Table Tennis Federation (RTTF), John Birungi, thanked the Government of Rwanda for accepting to host the tournaments and its full support for the events through the country’s Ministry of Sports.
“It is a dream come true to host this level of tournament, which is the biggest and most prestigious competition in Africa. We are happy that it has become a reality, and we hope that this will inspire us to aim higher and stage bigger events. We cannot achieve this without the backing of our supporters who believed in us to achieve this milestone,” Birungi said.
Also, President, African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF), Khaled El-Salhy, lauded the Government of Rwanda for supporting the RTTF to host the tournaments. El-Salhy assured that the ATTF would continue to support all member associations to reach new milestones like the RTTF.
In his remarks, Secretary-General, ITTF, Raul Calin commended Rwanda for hosting such significant tournaments and reaffirmed the world body’s commitment to supporting nations like Rwanda in their quest to grow the sport.
According to the Permanent Secretary of the Rwanda Ministry of Sport, Zephanie Niyonkuru, sports have become part of the Rwanda Tourism Ecosystem, contributing $95 million to the $620 million generated through tourism in Rwanda.
“We are grateful to the ATTF and the ITTF for considering Rwanda to host these two events. For us in Rwanda, we know the importance of sports, which is part of tourism that contributed over $620 million to the economy. Sporting events alone added $95 million to the chunk. In Rwanda, we want to use sports to build friendships among people, but we also want to generate income from them. I wish all our visitors a good stay in Rwanda and urge you to visit important places here in Kigali with the hope that you will always return,” Niyonkuru said.
Fifteen countries made up of Algeria, Djibouti, Egypt, Cameroon, Nigeria, Tunisia, Uganda, Madagascar, Congo Brazzaville, Ethiopia, Morocco, Cote d’Ivoire, Mauritius, Ghana and host Rwanda are competing in the three-day tournament taking place for the first time in Kigali, the Rwanda capital.
