Kazakhstan’s Alan Kurmangaliyev joins Hennebont after WTT triumph
A member of Kazakhstan’s table tennis team won a gold medal at the WTT Youth Contender tournament in Sweden and signed a contract with one of France’s most decorated clubs, GV Hennebont TT, Qazinform News Agency reports, citing the Kazakh National Olympic Committee.
Early June marked a milestone for Kazakhstan’s table tennis player Alan Kurmangaliyev. He has joined Hennebont, a club competing in France’s top-tier Pro A championship. The league is considered one of Europe’s strongest and regularly features world-class players.
Based in Brittany, Hennebont is among the most successful table tennis clubs in France. The team has won the French championship five times and has lifted the ETTU Cup, Europe’s second-tier club competition, twice.
The agreement between Alan Kurmangaliyev and Hennebont is valid for one year. A key feature of the deal is that it allows the Kazakh player to combine his club commitments in France with appearances at international tournaments and duties with Kazakhstan’s national team. According to Kurmangaliyev, the contract does not require him to reside permanently in France.
The signing comes shortly after the Kazakh tennis player’s triumph at the WTT Youth Contender event in Helsingborg, Sweden, where he claimed the U19 title.
On his way to gold, Kurmangaliyev defeated Hugo Jobs of Sweden, Obada Tabbakh of Sweden, Balazs Poor of Hungary, Abhinandh Pradhivadhi of India, Jan Mrugala of Poland, Johan Havstin of Denmark, and Samuel Michna of Poland.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that Kazakhstan’s national teams had moved up in the latest ITTF World Team Rankings.