The first Maldivian national team to participate in an international tournament will visit China after 50 years

Several players from the first Maldivian team to participate in an international sports tournament left for China on July 14 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of that historic event.

The first time a Maldivian sports team competed in an international tournament was in 1973 when the Maldivian table tennis team participated in the Asia-Africa-Latin America Friendship Invitational Table Tennis Tournament held in China.

The tournament was held from 25 August to 5 September 1973. The Maldives sent a seven-member delegation to participate in the tournament, four of which were members of the table tennis team and officials. Three members of the original delegation have since died

The Maldives delegation to the Asia-Africa-Latin America Friendship Invitational Table Tennis Tournament in 1973 was led by the late Minister Abdulla Jameel. The team was captained by Hasan Habeeb, who participated as a non-playing captain. Among the players representing Maldives in the tournament was the late Sayyid Hassan, a well-known sports figure who achieved several awards during his career. The team also included Adam Shareef, Ahmed Latheef, Huraa Abdul Sattar and Hassan Latheef, who is currently working in the education sector.

Ahmed Latheef, Huraa Abdul Sattar and former Maldives No. 1 cricket bowler Hassan Habeeb are among the team members who have traveled to China for the 50th anniversary celebrations. The visit, coordinated by the Chinese Embassy in the Maldives, is organized by the Chinese Corporation, which is responsible for planning and organizing cultural activities related to foreign nations.

According to current Foreign Minister and former Maldives Ambassador to China Ahmed Latheef, the Chinese company involved in organizing the 50th anniversary is the same one that arranged for the Maldivian team to travel to Beijing City for the first tournament in 1973. Latheef also mentioned that they had identified a Chinese player who had competed against the Maldivian team in that inaugural tournament.

Ahmed Latheef, who was part of the Maldives men’s table tennis team, said that the team won Maldives’ first international medal, a bronze, in 1978 at the Indian Ocean Island Games. He expressed his gratitude to China for their continuous help and support to Maldives for these 50 years, starting from their participation in the first tournament.

Two years after the first tournament, China donated 3 table tennis tables and related equipment to the Maldives in 1975. China also arranged for a Chinese coach for the Maldives team in the same year.