University students from across Almaty gathered at KIMEP at the end of October to show off their drop shots, lobs, and sidespins at the President’s Ping Pong Cup.
The competition included 118 participants, including 80 students from KIMEP (51 men and 29 women) and 38 (19 men and 19 women) from 20 other universities, in a series of six knockout matches in the men’s category and five in the women’s.
Winners received cash prizes of 150,000, 100,000, and 50,000 KZT, along with certificates and trophies.
Indeed, the day-long event was filled with long volleys and more than a few loops, half long serves, and smashes.
For many students, the tournament is more than just competition.
“I decided to participate because I wanted to test my skills, and the tournament was great as usual,” said Alan Akhmetov, a KIMEP student who advanced to the quarter-finals. “However, players from other universities had a different skill level compared to Kimepian players.”
While KIMEP had the most participants, other university students took all of the top spots.
- First place: Damir Sarsenbay from Kazakh-German University and Aruzhan Bekish from Al Farabi Kazakh National University;
- Second place: Aknur Nurtazin from Suleyman Demirel University and Yekaterina Pyurko from Kazakh-British Technical University;
- Third place: Nurkhat Abdykhalyk from Kazakh Academy of Sports & Tourism and Aida Ussipbayeva from Kazakh National Women’s Teacher Training University.
- All participants have received certificates of appreciation for their active participation in the competition.
Planning and organizing the event was not easy, said Erik Orazaliyev, director of KIMEP’s Sports Center.
“Initially, we hosted a small tournament just for KIMEP students, faculty, and staff,” said Orazaliyev. “Over time, we saw the potential to make this a bigger championship among universities across Almaty and have been accomplishing this since 2015.”
“Challenges come up, but with each year of experience, we have learned how to make the process smoother,” he said. “We receive tremendous support from Dr. Bang’s office.”
The opening ceremony of the President’s Ping Pong Cup included ballroom dancers and the KIMEP Foxes cheerleaders performing in front of a hall filled with spectators.
The President’s Ping Pong Cup is just one of many sports events organized by KIMEP’s Sports Center, Orazaliyev said. The next competition handled by the Sports Center will be the Special Olympics Games in November, which will take place on KIMEP University campus.