{"id":600502,"date":"2025-11-29T03:33:21","date_gmt":"2025-11-29T03:33:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/600502\/"},"modified":"2025-11-29T03:33:21","modified_gmt":"2025-11-29T03:33:21","slug":"ala-leads-table-tennis-drive-in-ni-less-than-a-year-after-taking-up-sport-armagh-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/600502\/","title":{"rendered":"Ala leads table tennis drive in NI less than a year after taking up sport \u2013 Armagh I"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Ala\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAla Al-Janabi<\/p>\n

Taking up a new sport at the age of 70 is somewhat unusual. Taking it up with the intensity, passion and ambition of Ala Al-Janabi is extraordinary.<\/p>\n

Ala, who has made Kilmore in Co Armagh his home with his wife and three children for the last 30 years, has become one of the most energetic advocates for table tennis in Northern Ireland \u2014 despite only picking up a bat for the first time a little under a year ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was never sporty,\u201d said Ala. \u201cI am really business minded. Never did any sport and never run, never walked, never cycled, never did anything\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Ala grew up in Baghdad before moving to the UK in 1976. After completing his studies at Birmingham University, he earned a Masters in Business Administration and later worked as a director with a major company.<\/p>\n

In 1996, he moved to Northern Ireland with his Belfast-born wife \u2014 who went on to at Drumcree School \u2014 and their three children.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came to Co Armagh to help people with the orchards, setting up a number of factories. I bought a house in Kilmore, which is a lovely big bungalow with acres around it. It\u2019s my home until I die.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nearly 30 years on, Co Armagh is truly home to Ala.<\/p>\n

But remarkably, Ala\u2019s entry into sport began only after retirement.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy wife, she is retired as well\u2026,\u201d he explained. \u201cWe got fed up after two years, so we decided, \u2018let\u2019s do something different\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

They went to South Lake Leisure Centre and tried a dance and movement class. \u201cThere were about 30 ladies and I\u2019m the only man there. I said to my wife, \u2018look, that\u2019s not me!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

After ruling out swimming, the gym and squash, the receptionist at the leisure centre mentioned table tennis. Ala gave it a try the next day \u2014 and everything changed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a lovely man, Arnold Morgan, and he started just throwing a few balls at me,\u201d Ala continued. \u201cI kept missing them but soon after I was hooked on it. I loved it. I absolutely loved it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He joined Craigavon Table Tennis Club and Banbridge Table Tennis Club, immersing himself fully in his new sport. \u201cI started reading up on the rules and the regulation \u2013 I began studying the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Ala progressed rapidly \u2014 not as a player, he insists as he has still a fair bit to go on that front, but as an official. He\u2019s now on the committee of Table Tennis Ulster.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did the exam, and I passed it, and I became an umpire. Even though I can\u2019t play very well\u2026 I was going to different places, competitions, to umpire the games, which I love.\u201d<\/p>\n

He then completed his coaching qualification, visiting primary schools to introduce children to the sport. \u201cWe managed to get them some tables and started teaching the kids locally from P3, P4, P5.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ala is now also a qualified referee, responsible for entire events rather than a single table. \u201cI love every single part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

His passion for development even took him to China last August. While the main reason may have been to visit his son, there was a second \u2013 and that was \u201cto go and practice table tennis with the top guys\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

China is renowned for Table Tennis \u2013 its woven in to their very fabric from a young age and while its unlikely to ever receive such a standing in NI, Ala says the sport here has huge untapped potential.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have fantastic players\u2026 young people in university. They\u2019re playing very well. The only thing is, they\u2019re playing each other all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ala wants to bring in coaching influences from France, Sweden and Germany and believes NI players could eventually compete at the highest international levels.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe could go and compete in Olympic Games\u2026 We could go and compete against the Chinese \u2013 that\u2019s what I would love to be able to do for the sport here.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also sees the sport as uniquely inclusive of gender age, and cultural\/political backgrounds. While some sports are associated with the type of school you go to, table tennis does not have that sort of influence.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have kids about six years old and we have people as old as 94 playing table tennis\u2026 With table tennis, it\u2019s different. It really is a mix. You have girls and boys and they play together and against each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cost, too, is not a barrier. \u201cYearly membership costs between \u00a39 and \u00a319, which basically covers insurance,\u201d said Ala who bemoaned a lack of grant aid for the sport in NI. While not nothing, it\u2019s minuscule when compared to the more mainstream sports. That ma be a case of the chicken and egg, perhaps.<\/p>\n

But with Table Tennis Ulster now offering programmes for all ages as well as mental health and even Parkinson\u2019s, Ala believes the sport is positioned to grow dramatically.<\/p>\n

Last year\u2019s Ulster Open in Lisburn had 384 competitors. This year\u2019s \u2013 which will take place this weekend in Lisburn \u2013 will have 500, and Ala thinks the numbers could double soon with the right guidance.<\/p>\n

For Ala, table tennis has transformed his health \u2013 both physically and mentally.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe health benefit\u2026 is unbelievable. Not just for me but so many people. There\u2019s coordination, focusing on eye coordination, the brain will always be active during the games\u2026 and because you don\u2019t necessarily need to move that much unlike football or running, it\u2019s perfect for older people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been playing almost a year and I have lost three stones.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an incredible personal achievement and for someone who has achieved so much throughout his career, it may rank as one of his highlights.<\/p>\n

He jokes about how far he has come.<\/p>\n

\u201cA year and a half ago, if you asked me, \u2018What\u2019s table tennis?\u2019 I would tell you I don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, he is helping shape the sport\u2019s future in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n

And at 70, Ala Al-Janabi is only getting started.<\/p>\n


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