Africa-Press – Namibia. REESE Saunderson (19) was arguably the star of the show for Namibia at the Region 5 Junior Table Tennis Championships in Gaborone, Botswana, over the weekend, causing upsets on her way to the under-19 singles ladies title.
The Namibian upstart eliminated home-favourite Kaone Moroke in straight sets in the semi-finals, before winning a nail-biter of a final against the highly rated Janet Modiwa of Zambia.
She was the undoubted star of an inexperienced Namibian team, which exceeded expectations at the Covid-19-delayed tournament. After nearly 20 months since the outbreak of Covid-19, Botswana hosted the Phoenix Assurance-sponsored regional singles championships for seniors and under-19s.
The Namibia Table Tennis Association (NTTA) initially planned to have four senior men, two senior women, plus two junior women and men at the competition.
However, due to Covid-19 restrictions and other factors beyond the NTTA’s control, only one player per category eventually departed for Gaborone on 10 December. Namibia opted to enter the under-19 players in the senior and junior events for added exposure at international level.
“The team gave a great account of themselves, and the entire team can be very proud of themselves. 2022 beckons to be a fantastic year for table tennis, due to the NTTA’s various development plans and events,” team manager Heiko Fleidl says.
He says the trip was “a huge success as it exceeded expectations” for the ‘Brave Table Tennis Warriors’. The championships kicked off on Saturday at the Botho University in Gaborone, where Namibia battled hosts Botswana, Lesotho, Zambia, Eswatini, and Malawi for honours.
Namibia’s players, including the juniors who participated in the senior singles categories, advanced past the group phase to the knockout stage. On Sunday, Wayne Green and Maximillian Bӧck were both eliminated from the senior men’s category in the round of 32.
In the senior ladies’ category, Michelle de Koker’s run ended in the round of 16 as Saunderson progressed to the quarter-finals before also bowing out in a closely contested match against Zambia’s eventual finalist, Angel Kunda.
Bӧck (17) gave a good account of himself when he reached the quarter-finals of the under-19 men’s category. “This is an exceptional performance considering it was his first international participation,” Fleidl says.
“The NTTA would like to thank its two main sponsors, who made it possible for the team to attend this special event.”
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