Swimming, Table Tennis to represent Tanzania in Youth Games
Tanzania Olympic Committee (TOC) vice president Henry Tandau (second left) hands over the national flag to Tanzania’s youth team captain Qutbuddin Mohammed Taherali (third right) ahead of the African Youth Games to be held in Luanda, Angola. PHOTO | MAJUTO OMARY
Dar es Salaam. Tanzania will be represented by two sports at the African Youth Games, which are scheduled to start tomorrow in Luanda, Angola.
According to the Tanzania Olympic Committee vice president Henry Tandau, the country will compete in swimming and table tennis. The swimming team consists of two young athletes, Austin Okore and Filbertha Demello, while table tennis will be represented by Qutbuddin Mohammed Taherali.
All three athletes were expected to travel to Luanda yesterday under the guidance of their respective coaches. The swimmers are coached by Zuberi Likoko, and table tennis player Qutbuddin is under coach Masoud Issa Mtalaso. Other members of the delegation include team manager Halima Bushiri and head of delegation Furaha Mwita.
Tandau explained that Tanzania had initially planned to field athletes in more than two sports, but several challenges prevented the wider participation. Athletics was one of the intended disciplines, but the team failed to secure runners due to unspecified reasons.
The committee also made efforts to register a 3×3 basketball team, but technical issues halted the plan before final preparations were completed.
Additionally, the country could not send a beach soccer team because the number of participating nations in that category was insufficient to stage the event. He noted that the original strategy involved sending sportsmen and sportswomen in five disciplines, but adjustments had to be made based on the situation and available resources.
The African Youth Games 2025 marks the fourth edition of the continental multi-sport competition, designed to bring together young athletes from across Africa.
Angola will host the event for the first time, becoming the first Portuguese-speaking nation to stage the Games after winning the hosting rights on April 29, 2025.
The competitions will take place from December 10 to 20 across six major cities, namely Luanda, Benguela, Lubango, Huambo, Moçâmedes and Caxito. A total of thirty three sports will be contested during the Games.
These include 3×3 basketball, basketball, beach soccer, beach handball, beach volleyball, boxing, fencing, football, futsal, weightlifting and golf.
Other sports are, judo, canoeing, karate, athletics, wrestling, swimming, skateboarding, shooting sport, taekwondo, tennis, table tennis, triathlon, volleyball and traditional Angolan games such as Wela and Kiela.
