Table Tennis: Africans Secure Podium Finishes In Tunis, Manchester
African players made their presence felt at the WTT Contender Tunis and WTT Feeder Manchester, securing podium finishes over the weekend, although they didn’t reach the top stages in the singles events.
In the doubles and mixed doubles categories, African stars shone brightly as Egyptian duo Mohamed El-Beiali and Youssef Abdelaziz, clinched bronze in the Men’s Doubles at the WTT Contender Tunis held at the Rades Sports Complex.
Abdelaziz caused a major upset in the first round of the Men’s Singles by defeating Japanese star Yukida Uda. The Egyptian southpaw was on the brink of defeat but saved match point to win 3-2 (8-11, 14-12, 4-11, 11-8, 12-10). However, his impressive run was halted by Sweden’s Kristian Karlsson in the second round.
The partnership between Tunisia’s Wassim Essid and Egypt’s Hana Goda yielded results, earning them a bronze medal in the Mixed Doubles event amidst a field of superstars.
The teenagers displayed bravery and consistency, defeating the No. 1 seed Kristian Karlsson and Christina Kallberg of Sweden 3-1 in the quarterfinals. They were eventually stopped in the semifinals by the champions Diya Chitale and Manush Shah of India.
At the National Cycling Centre in Manchester, England, former African champion Dina Meshref did not live up to her top seed rating in the Women’s Singles, being edged out in the second round.
Nonetheless, Meshref did not leave England empty-handed. Her partnership with Jian Seng of Singapore secured the Women’s Doubles title with a 3-1 victory over India’s Sayali Wani and Krittwika Roy in the final, marking her first title at the WTT Series.
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