Brian Mutua, Sejal Thakkar, Lisa Wale and Peter Theuri are among the players who have made it to tier one of the national team pool following round robin qualifiers held at the Goan Institute Nairobi last weekend.

The men’s, women’s, boys’ and girls’ categories shortlisted 10 players each to the tier one of the pool with the remaining group being relegated to tier two.

The round robin matches were preceded by branch trials held at respective centres where each region selected it’s top players to compete in the National Pool selection trials.

Kenya Table Tennis Association (KTTA) Chairman Andrew Mudibo said the new system of national team selection is geared towards uplifting standards while also keeping players engaged in training and competition over lengthy period.

Mudibo clarified that no one had joined the national team yet. He explained that the top 10 players in Tier 1 will next month (April), play a round robin to determine who is in the national team.

“The players from Tier 1 who finish in position 9 and 10 will be demoted to Tier 2, while the top 2 Players in Tier 2 will be promoted to Tier 1 and in the month of May, they stand a chance of making it to the National team, if they win.” He said, adding that the National Team selection will be continuous, so that any player can be able to qualify if you win through your tier. “