Rashed Abdelhamid, a former national team and Al-Nasr club player, as well as a member of the Table Tennis Federation's board of directors, has announced his enrollment at the University of Salerno in Italy to discuss his doctoral thesis titled 'Developing Sports Talents in the UAE' next summer. Rashed Abdelhamid told 'Al-Ittihad' that his research project was delayed for about three years due to the difficulty of finding a university that allows for the remote defense of a doctoral thesis. He pointed out that several world universities, especially in Scotland, Britain, and the United States, required full student attendance and in-person study. He added that he was finally able to join the University of Salerno in Italy due to the availability of online study options, which allowed him to resume his academic project. He stated that 'the study will focus on the age group of 10 to 16 years, considering it the most important stage for discovering and polishing sports talents, as the research aims to answer questions related to the reasons for the lack of development of players and athletes at this age, in various sports and not just one game'. He explained that 'the research will rely on surveying the opinions of a number of coaches, administrators, parents, and representatives of sports federations, in addition to consulting relevant bodies such as the National Olympic Committee and the Ministry of Sport. The questionnaire will focus on 13 questions to reach scientific results that help diagnose the challenges facing the development of sports talents in the country'. Abdelhamid confirmed that 'the goal of the study is not limited to obtaining a PhD, but also to present a scientific research paper that can be utilized within the country to understand the reasons for the decline in the development of players at these ages and to propose practical solutions to develop the talent discovery system'. Abdelhamid had previously joined the board of directors of the Table Tennis Federation by appointment, where he currently oversees the development of the game at the grassroots and national team levels. Abdelhamid has a rich sports record, having won about 150 medals, including 110 gold medals in local and external championships. He also won several titles at the local and Gulf levels, the most prominent being five Gulf titles, in addition to two gold and two silver Arab medals. One of his most prominent achievements was also achieving third place in Asia, an Arab achievement considered the first of its kind. Abdelhamid has a rich sports record and has won about 150 medals in local and external championships.
