Eugenio Raniriharinosy, technical director of Padel in Madagascar
Having completed a training course in France and practicing the discipline, Eugenio Raniriharinosy, technical director of Padel in Madagascar.
Mr. Eugenio Raniriharinosy, Technical Director of Padel in Madagascar, Padel is currently fashionable in Madagascar, can you explain in a word what Padel is and how it is currently doing in Madagascar?
Created in 1969, Padel is a racket sport. It is a mixture of tennis, squash and badminton. It is the sport that has seen the most growth in the world. Padel arrived in Madagascar in 2019 thanks to Futsal.
How many players are there in Madagascar and how do you find the level of Malagasy players? How much land is there in the country?
When it launched in 2019, there were around twenty players. Today, there are more than four hundred practitioners registered. As it is still quite recent in Madagascar, the level is still low compared to the global level and even compared to neighboring islands. And this is why MPPTOUR called on a Spanish expert who will be in Madagascar in April 2024. In Madagascar, there are fifteen sites, one of which is located in Tamatave. Two competition circuits coexist: the Futsal club championship with different divisions and the MPPTOUR with tournaments of varied levels covering all clubs.
The racket used sells from 300,000, 383,000 ariary, or even more. Is Padel a rich man’s sport? You aim to create a Malagasy Federation of Padel, how are you going to bring together fans given the high cost of the related equipment?
Indeed, playing Padel is not yet within everyone’s reach: the racket costs at least 200,000 ariary and can go up to more than 1,000,000 ariary. It is an initial investment like any sports equipment. Depending on the club, the rental of an hour of pitch ranges from 50,000 to 80,000 ariary. The federation is in the making and we hope that it will be effective in 2024.
There is another completely different discipline which is written Paddle compared to Padel, can you provide more precision to avoid confusion?
We do not confuse Padel and Paddle. The latter is a water sport using a paddle board. Paddle is practiced on a calm sea, a lake or a pond, or gently moving rivers.
How do you see the future of this sport in Madagascar. What is the age group that practices it?
Padel is a sport that can be practiced by all ages, men and women. And it is practiced in doubles, hence the conviviality of this sporting discipline. Padel in Madagascar is not yet at the maturity stage. It’s constantly evolving. Today it is difficult to find a free pitch after 5 p.m. because athletes rush to play on it.
What are the necessary conditions to break into the discipline and when will there be an international Padel tournament in Madagascar?
Like any type of sport, optimal physical conditions and diligence in training are required. In 2024, we plan to organize tournaments with neighboring islands without forgetting that Madagascar has already been a semi-finalist in the African Club Championship in Egypt in 2022.
Donné Raherinjatovo
2023-12-21 09:25:36
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