African table tennis players made their mark at the WTT Contender Tunis and WTT Feeder Manchester over the weekend, earning podium finishes in doubles events, although they fell short of reaching the latter stages in singles competitions.
In the doubles and mixed doubles categories, African representatives impressed. The Egyptian pair of Mohamed El-Beiali and Youssef Abdelaziz secured a bronze medal in the Men’s Doubles at the WTT Contender Tunis, held at the Rades Sports Complex.
Abdelaziz produced a notable upset in the opening round of the Men’s Singles, defeating Japanese star Yukiya Uda. The left-handed Egyptian came from behind to save match point and win 3-2 (8–11, 14–12, 4–11, 11–8, 12–10). His campaign, however, ended in the second round at the hands of Sweden’s Kristian Karlsson.
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Meanwhile, Tunisia’s Wassim Essid and Egypt’s Hana Goda earned bronze in the Mixed Doubles category. The teenage duo displayed remarkable determination and composure, defeating top seeds Kristian Karlsson and Christina Källberg of Sweden 3–1 in the quarter-finals before falling to eventual champions Diya Chitale and Manush Shah of India in the semi-finals.
At the WTT Feeder in Manchester, England, former African champion Dina Meshref, who entered as the top seed in the Women’s Singles, was eliminated in the second round.
Despite the single setback, Meshref did not leave empty-handed. Teaming up with Singapore’s Jian Zeng, she claimed the Women’s Doubles title with a 3–1 win over India’s Sayali Wani and Krittwika Roy in the final, her first WTT Series title.
