Legendary runner Filbert Bayi, secretary general of the Tanzanian Olympic Committee, has made a plea over coaching ©Getty Images

Former 1,500 metres world record holder Filbert Bayi, secretary general of the Tanzania Olympic Committee (TOC), has called upon sports associations in the country to make sure they have coaches capable of finding and developing new talents.

Bayi, who reduced the world record by almost a second in clocking 3min 32.2sec in a memorable gun-to-tape run at the 1974 Commonwealth Games in Christchurch, New Zealand, issued the plea at the opening of a table tennis coaching course.

Speaking at Mkuza in Kibaha, Coast Region, where the two-week, level one course was about to take place, Bayi said it was "sad" that the only table tennis centres in the country were in Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar.

He added that he believed Tanzania had many potentially talented players who had never been discovered.

Tanzanian children practise athletics in 2012, watched by Sebastian Coe, chair of the London 2012 Organising Committee - but Filbert Bayi believes a new generation have been let down by a lack of coaching ©Getty Images
Tanzanian children practise athletics in 2012, watched by Sebastian Coe, chair of the London 2012 Organising Committee - but Filbert Bayi believes a new generation have been let down by a lack of coaching ©Getty Images

"Since I became TOC secretary general I have never heard of the table tennis association organising either a National Championship or a regional event," he said to IPP Media.

"I wondered if table tennis association leaders are serious about development of the sport?

"The officials should take the sport to all parts of the country."

Bayi added that he found it difficult to respond to requests for advanced coaching courses as most national sports associations are lacking level one coaches.

"The last time we organised a level one coaching course for table tennis coaches was in 2011, but you will be surprised to hear that we have been asked about providing an advanced course instead of a beginners' course," he said.

Bayi paid tribute to the International Olympic Committee for sponsoring the course, which has drawn 31 coaches from mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar.