Many events have fallen prey to the extraordinary times of the global COVID-19 pandemic, amongst them the Dakar 2022 Youth Olympic Games. Those players that were hoping to qualify for their first taste of Olympic spirit will continue to be supported by the WFIM scholarships – now with loftier goals for the future in mind.

One such player with that loftier goal achieved is Prithika Pavade (FRA). Initially supported as a Youth Olympic Games athlete, she recently qualified for Tokyo 2020 at the European Olympic Singles Qualification Tournament.

For her fellow Olympic qualifiers within the programme last year, the support has been extended to continue to provide additional training and competition opportunities prior to the postponed Olympic event this year. With additional support given through the ITTF High Performance program, those players will be able to make use of the scholarship throughout the calendar year.

“With The Future In Mind helped me a lot to play international tournaments and improve my world ranking”. – Darko Jorgic (SLO), WFIM scholarship holder

With the Future in Mind has been a core component of the Athletes Development Model since its inception, targeting Prospects from all over the World in the pursuit of their Olympic Dream.

Following the adoption of the new ITTF Strategic Plan in 2018, support was expanded to a group of athletes from established markets with the aim of further globalizing competitiveness within our sport, an approach that is reflected in and continued for this year’s supported athletes.

2021 WFIM Athlete List