Cape Town - From the township of Ezibeleni in Queenstown, Mfundo Marasi says everything changed when he tried table tennis for the first time while in college in Cape Town in 1998.
He won his first gold medal the next year and never looked back.
With a dream to see the sport of table tennis expanding to rural areas and having its own Premier League, Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) table tennis coach Marasi recently took over the reins as the chairperson of University Sports South Africa (USSA).
The 46-year-old was nominated by Stellenbosch University for the chairperson position and supported by UCT, and nominated uncontested for the upcoming term of 2022 – 2024.
This as the World Table Tennis Championships are coming to South Africa in 2023 and to the African continent for the first time since 1939.
Marasi, who founded a table tennis project in Queenstown and teaches the youth, said he fell in love with table tennis in 1998.
“I have been a rugby player during my high school days and I never had too much interest in table tennis because we viewed it as a sport played by people with money.
“Everything changed when I was at Leaf College (of Commerce and Engineering) in Rondebosch.
“I thought to myself that I need to try this sport and never looked back. “I won my first gold medal in 1999 and ever since then I have been a coach, manager, and mentor for CPUT table tennis on a voluntary basis, until I was formally appointed last year.”
He said youth needed to engage with various sports, including those they are not familiar with and that will help them to expand their knowledge and experience.
“Also, engaging in sports keeps you busy and not engaging in social ills like drugs, alcohol, and teenage pregnancy.
“Table tennis still needs to be introduced to the township and rural areas because everyone who grows up thinks soccer, rugby and cricket are the only sports to be played, not knowing there are plenty of them out there, but I understand, because our people are exposed to other sports and also they do not have equipment.”
Marasi urged government to invest more in sports, especially in disadvantaged areas.
“Unlike soccer and rugby, table tennis is not well recognised in our country and that is why it’s difficult for us to get sponsorships and funding.
“We hope that the World Cup will bring change to our country and people will start to take this sport seriously.
“We also wish to take the experience from other countries and pass it to our own people and to generations to come.
“I feel humbled to be part of the table tennis world cup and it is for the first time in the country we are hosting it – this is history for me,” said Marasi.
Mohamed Allie from CPUT’s Student Affairs Department said Marasi focuses on development through to excellence.
“Mfundo is an inspirational individual who is a former student, former player and former administrator, and now table tennis head coach at CPUT.
“He was also instrumental in establishing the 2022 Western Cape Tertiary League which aims to develop table tennis players at tertiary institutions with a series that travels across the Western Cape to various campuses.
“This vision is one of the reasons that Mfundo is the right person to take the USSA table tennis community forward.
“We wish him everything of the best,” said Allie.
The CPUT staff member and technical vice-president of the SA Table Tennis Board, Genevieve Lentz,said Marasi is a leading figure in the sport and his visionary approach will ensure that table tennis thrives in Africa.
“We look forward to hosting the World Championships in Durban next year and Mfundo, or Sir Lee as the students call him, is sure to be involved in this monumental occasion,” said Lentz.
Marasi takes over from Thabiso Shongwe from University of Limpopo as USSA chairperson.
USSA president Mandla Gagayi said “with Marasi and CPUT being a member of the Western Province Table Tennis”, they are confident that he will make a meaningful contribution to the sport.
“Marasi’s election was not by accident, given his knowledge and experience of table tennis.
“Marasi has been involved with CPUT table tennis since 2003 and his team have always performed well in both the USSA national competitions and Western Province Chess competitions.
“I remember in the 1999 SASSU Games where his team spectacularly won ... and that was his first step to the ladder of success.
“Since then, he has travelled with USSA table tennis national teams to international competitions and has been a USSA table tennis tournament director for the last five years.”
Gagayi said USSA’s mission is to contribute to the national sporting agenda in whichever way they can.
“It is always a huge achievement for South Africa to host any world cup, whether it is table tennis or netball, because these bring opportunities to our students to get exposed to the highest level of the sport for their learning. We also always hope to see our current and former USSA players participating in these events,” said Gagayi.
Cape Times