Africa-Press – Botswana. The Botswana Table Tennis Association (BTTA) on Saturday celebrated the life of departed table tennis legend, Matshidiso Osi-Moses.
This year marks five years since Osi-Moses departed from this world at the age of 37. She was the founding member of Smash Maniacs Table Tennis Club and a long serving member of the national team and had transitioned to coaching. Over the weekend, Smash Maniacs hosted a ‘Clash of Titans’ tournament at the BUAN Hall in Sebele.
The competition was a breather from the BTTA Super League, which opened this season’s calendar of events. The tournament gave players outside the top eight national rankings some minutes on the table in all singles tie while it also included the Under-18’s section. Eyes were on the top ranked male paddler, Bakang Maloka of Moshupa Spinners.
He had an unbeaten run in the first half of the Super League but only to begin the second round with a defeat. On Saturday, he had a disappointing afternoon as he was knocked of the tournament in the quarterfinals. Maloka lost 3-2 against BDF’s Thobo Matlhatsi. The number one was second best for the majority of the tie as he struggled against the veteran.
Former number one, Tshenolo Mooketsi was having a good day as he sailed to the final as his quarterfinals and semifinals casualties were Thapelo Molefhi of True Identity and Matlhatsi relatively. Kola Modisaotsile sailed to the final to set up a tricky tie against Mooketsi. It was the BDF club player who emerged victorious from a highly contested tie go bag the P,1000 paycheck. Second placed, Modisaotsile took home P600 while the semifinalists pocketed P300 each. The women’s final paired Tshepiso Rebatenne of Nhabe and Boitshwarelo Butale of Smash Maniacs.
The two have dominated the sport locally and were somehow expected to meet in the final match. Rebatenne continued her dominance over her long-term rival to take the Clash of Titans crown home. It was Rebatenne’s fourth consecutive tournament final match win over Butale. Smash Maniacs had a tournament to forget despite being the host. Since its established two decades ago, the club has risen to be a local powerhouse boasting membership of 50 players and technical members.
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