By MALIK MERCHANT

It was heartening to read Kef Noorani’s table tennis success story, which is currently featured as the main story on The Ismaili, the official website of the Ismaili Muslim community. It immediately brought back fond memories of another fantastic Ismaili table tennis player, Faazil Kassam, who qualified to represent Canada in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. While Kef’s introduction to the game began in his parent’s car garage, with his father coaching him, Faazil’s introduction took place in the social hall of the previous Ottawa Jamatkhana on 991 Carling Avenue, with his father Nashir coaching him. The community’s recognition of Faazil’s Olympic qualification, which I initiated with the Ismaili leadership, was a significant milestone. Ottawa’s then Mukhisaheb Nazib Charania was highly supportive, ensuring that an announcement was made in the Jamatkhana, followed by a fantastic send-off for Faazil in the Jamatkhana social hall.

Upon his return from the Athens games, where Faazil and his doubles player lost to former Swedish champions, his parents, Nashir and mother Shaida (now deceased), organized a fantastic homecoming event at their Ottawa home. We watched his doubles match with great excitement and, of course, disappointment that he did not proceed further. We were each given a souvenir table tennis bat signed by Faazil. He then pursued a medical career in ophthalmology.

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I was introduced to the game in the mid 1960s in the home of our ground-floor neighbour, Abdulbhai, at Islamabad Flats on United Nations Road. He owned the famous Vega Radio store on Morogoro Road in Dar es Salaam. One day, while visiting his home, I saw his children, Alnoor and Shanawaz, playing table tennis on their large dining room table. I took up the game and was beating both of them within weeks at their own game. My subsequent success in Dar es Salaam was when I shockingly upset the top two seeds in the semi-final and final of the Aga Khan Table Tennis Junior Under 17 championship. It was inspired by the training I received from (Late) Mohammed Amersi (Kanji), who was the best table tennis player in Tanzania. Also a great badminton player, Mohammed would first come to my table at the Aga Khan Club in Dar es Salaam, located behind my secondary school, Shaaban Robert, and intentionally allow me to win games against him to encourage me. His coaching to me and his younger brother, Salim Kanji, who is now in Toronto, nearly led us to a shocking win in a men’s doubles match against top seeds Priyakant Patel and Subash Bharadia in the Dar es Salaam Open held at the Indian Gymkhana. I remember I had forgotten my mandatory coloured polo shirt at home and wore my regular white shirt for the game, to which Subash fiercely objected — and wanted a default win — before Priyakant stepped in and asked his partner to calm down!

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In the early 1970s in London, UK, I represented my North London Polytechnic in the inter college/university league.

With table tennis, my cricket batting improved dramatically. Bowlers were quick to note my fast reaction times. I saw the ball like a football, after leaving the bowler’s arms. However, no one could have excited me in London more than my friend Aziz Jetha, who defeated seeded players in the earlier rounds of the Fulham Broadway tournament before knocking out a strongly favoured and top-seeded Nigerian player. Jetha’s incredible defensive game, with sudden bursts of attacking play, was genuinely frustrating to the Nigerian and others he played earlier. As one my best table tennis friends, I lost 70% of all the matches I played with Aziz, whether at 5 Palace Gate or at the Imperial College’s table tennis room, where we would meet after Jamatkhana. In between my time in the UK and Canada, I was in Salt Lake City, Utah, where my doubles partner and I lost very narrowly in the city’s open finals in 1980.

Coming to Canada, Habiba Thawer and I won the mixed double for Ottawa in the Ismaili Games in the mid-1980s. My drawback over the decades I played the game was a weak backhand due to the wrong grip of the bat, which no one noted and corrected since my teenage years. I knew about this all along but only recently corrected my grip in Calgary. I have seen a significant improvement in my backhand game, even at my current retirement age! COVID-19 prevented my regular participation at the local CUSTTA table tennis club. The club has some fantastic players, but no one could match Faazil Kassam when he was at the top.

Table tennis is a quick-paced game, and the Chinese won all 5 individual and team gold medals at the recent Paris Olympics. Some of the rallies I watched were absolutely incredible. Homes with basements should have table tennis tables where children can start this beautiful sport, which will help them in other sports, including skiing, ice hockey, basketball and baseball, which require fast reactions and responses. I remember being frustrated with the Blue Jays batters some years ago. I even wrote a letter to the club asking their batters to play table tennis regularly to improve their batting. That’s not a joke! It had helped me in my cricket batting.

Kef Noorani’s inspiring story in The Ismaili reflects his keen interest and recent achievements, and offers a glimpse into his promising future. As he continues to develop and participate on the world stage at the Junior Level, I sincerely hope that he will qualify to represent the USA in the World Table Tennis Championships and the next Olympic Games, which will be held in his home state, California, in Los Angeles, in 2028. The members of the Ismaili community across North America and worldwide can’t help but feel a sense of anticipation and excitement for what’s to come for Kef Noorani.

Date posted: August 27, 2024.
Last updated: August 28, 2024 (typos.)

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