Former National Schools champion Murhad Hussain has been given a golden opportunity to get more youngsters into table tennis after being chosen as a Young Leader by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Murhad was one of only 25 young people selected worldwide out of more than 5,250 applicants from 169 countries who applied to join the initiative.

The 24-year-old and the other candidates will complete their onboarding over the next few weeks. They will then embark on a four-year journey to create grassroots sport-based initiatives aimed at addressing social issues in their communities.

The IOC Young Leaders will receive expert guidance and coaching and seed funding of $10,000, which will help them turn their ideas into impactful and sustainable initiatives.

For his initiative, Murhad, who is from Bethnal Green in London and got into table tennis through the Greenhouse Sports charity, will create a 24-hour accessible club in Aberdeen, where he is currently based.

“By tackling child poverty in Aberdeen, I hope to give other children the same opportunities I got through table tennis growing up in one of the poorest neighbourhoods in London,” said Murhad, who was part of the Globe Primary School team which won Under-11 Boys’ gold at the 2011 Butterfly Schools Team Finals and went on to win silver and bronze medals in older age groups with Morpeth School.

Before being selected, Murhad had to undertake a four-week ‘learning sprint’ to take on board essential information, followed by an application process which included submitting a video, and being invited for interview.

Murhad said: “The video was a one-minute video about me, why I should be selected and what my project was going to be about – it took some serious editing skills!

“I moved to Scotland about a year and a half ago to work for the charity Enable, and my idea was to have an equitable local table tennis club in Aberdeen.

“There’s a lot of empty commercial properties there and we’ll be repurposing one of those into a modern table tennis club that is as close to 24/7 as possible, aligned to sustainability goals and where there is equity-based membership so people from poor backgrounds can attend but pay lower membership fees.

“I’m hoping the club can encourage new table tennis players who can see table tennis for what it’s worth

Another source of inspiration for Murhad, who is also currently working towards a Masters in sport business management at the University of Central Lancashire, was the PingPod model of 24/7 table tennis facilities in the USA.

He said: “I thought it would bring something new to the UK – why can’t we have something that’s 24-hour table tennis that’s affordable and accessible?

Murhad, who represented Nottingham Trent University at the BUCS championships while completing his undergraduate degree in computer science and games, hopes being part of the cohort will also open more opportunities for him.

“I was really happy to be selected but initially I probably didn’t realise just how massive it was, until I started getting a lot of messages from people all over the world,” he said.

“There will be lots of opportunities to network and learn and my programme finishes in 2028, so potentially I could go to the Los Angeles Olympics.”

About IOC Young Leaders

The IOC Young Leaders programme, launched in 2016, empowers talented young people to leverage the power of sport to make a positive difference to their communities. 25 Young Leaders are selected every two years for a four-year period.

With the support of seed-funding from the IOC and a network of mentors, the Young Leaders have so far delivered more than 140 initiatives, reaching over 30,000 individual participants. As agents of Olympism, they promote the Olympic values and principles 365 days a year, spreading the message of sport for good.

IOC President Thomas Bach said: “The selection of these 25 exceptional young leaders from diverse backgrounds underscores our commitment to empowering the next generation to build a better world through sport.

“The record number of applicants highlights how young people globally recognise the important role of sport in society. Their innovative ideas and dedication to leveraging sport for positive social change inspire us all.

“We look forward to supporting them as they contribute to the Olympic Movement and make a meaningful impact in their communities. This is what the Olympic Movement stands for: building a better world through sport.”