“The International Table Tennis Federation this week announced that Kiron Choudhury, Irish Umpire, has been selected to Umpire at the World Individual Table Tennis Championships in Yokohama, Japan. This a fantastic achievement for Mr Choudhury and I am sure the entire Irish table tennis community will join with us in wishing him the best of luck in Japan. We took some time to speak with Kiron following the news of his appointment :

“Umpiring in a World Championship is a very serious matter. It requires confidence, experience, dedication and most all a desire to learn. I began as an Umpire in 1992, encouraged by the then President of ITTA, the late Eddie Limburg. Since 2004, myself and a colleague, Joe Finnegan, commenced umpiring on the European circuit. Between two of us we have umpires in Germany, Portugal, Luxembourg, China, Spain and Denmark. We have also represented the ITTA in England many times.

Umpiring is a hobby – but like any other hobby, you must work to achieve your goals. I have great pride in being selected and am looking forward to dedicating myself to the biggest appointment of my Umpiring career.”

ITTA Secretary Ken Strong was also delighted with the news, commenting: “I am personally delighted that Kiron has been selected. It is an honour to be selected for the World Championships and is testament to the hard work and dedication shown thus far by Kiron in his Umpiring career. I would like, on behalf of the Board, to wish him well in Japan.”

Kiron’s success highlights the opportunities available to Umpires to participate at the very highest level of the sport. If you would like to get involved, please contact Ken or Kiron to register for the next Umpires course organised by the Irish Table Tennis Umpires Association.”