How generational sporting passion steered Kenya’s Ahmed Noorani to new heights

This can involve shared experiences, passion, traditions, or specific activities that hold meaning for multiple generations.

Kenya’s leading junior table-tennis player Ahmed Noorani (15) belongs to this exciting group of enthusiastic sporting families, who realized their games’ potential across different generations.

With an apparently insatiable appetite for success, Ahmed follows the legacy of his great grandfather Abdulrehman Mohamed Noorani, one of the founding members of Nairobi Memon Sports Club and having received the title of "Father of Sports" by Nasserpuria Memon Jamat Nairobi.

 Family Line Of Sports

His Grandfather Mohamed (Bapa) Noorani played Karate having attained the Brown Belt.

His father Adnaan and his uncle Kamran have played traditional Asian volleyball and have won various accolades including winning the most prestigious Kenya Open in 2008 with Memons.

Ahmed’s major inspiration is deeply ingrained in his late  elder sister Khadija who was an Archery champion and her twin Noorbanu, a student at Statehouse Girls High School and national level swimmer and badminton player, now playing table tennis and archery.

Reminiscing about his family line of sporting personalities, Ahmed highlighted: “My zeal for sports is a cherished family tradition that has been passed down through generations, starting with my great grandfather, My grandfather also who drove a chase car for multiple Kenyan champion Sarbi Rai and late Supee Soin and now dad introducing us to the games we love as a family. This legacy has since culminated into enjoyment of sports that continues to blossom, by and large. Dad has played a pivotal role in shaping our enthusiasm in sports.”

 A Jack Of All Trades

And asked why he loves multiple sports, Ahmed quips: “I think sports is in our family DNA, and for myself, I never engaged myself in any video games when I was young.  I adored physical action because video games reduce one's IQ level.

“Our community engages immensely in matters of sports; Abdulalim Mohamed Bagha does triathlon and represented Kenya at the Commonwealth Games. I represented Kenya in back to back ITTF Africa Junior Table Tennis Championships in Tunisia 2022, and Botswana 2024 courtesy of Serena Hotels’ sponsorship.”

Swimming, football, Badminton and darts were previously Ahmed’s preoccupation but not until he yielded to the lure of table tennis during the pre-covid period to become Kenya’s leading junior player today.

Ahmed was recently the best placed player at (position 4) at the recent East Africa Commonwealth Games Junior table tennis Championship behind Ugandans Ali Kalisa, Evan Opio and Gilbert Gaga who beat him 1-3 in the position 4 and 4 playoffs.

In 2018, Ahmed quit football following a nasty injury he sustained in a football tournament, but that did not deter his passion for sports in any way.

“I sustained a serious hip injury in football which affected my general performance in sports. Two weekends before the recent East Africa Commonwealth event at Kasarani, I also underwent a appendicitis surgery which shot my weight up by some kilos. Swimming has also been one of my heart desires. I was headed to Dubai for an Aquatic Championship to represent the country in butterfly and backstroke, breaststroke events, but when covid happened it became a mission impossible.”.

 --Reminiscing Two Racquet Sports--

Reflecting on his engagement in two racquet sports, and why he dropped badminton, Ahmed added: “Badminton needs speed and stamina, in table tennis you need speed and brain, so it was not easy playing both.”

 Ahmed got introduced to table tennis in 2019 but engaged in it proper in 2021. He would then play badminton and table tennis for the community, and through a friend called Bilal, Ahmed joined Coach Fahd Daim’s stable at Oshwal.

Ahmed made his national team debut during the 2022 ITTF Africa Youth championships in Tunisia after qualifying through the national team trials.