Egypt’s Ahmed Saleh and Dina Meshref claimed their titles at the 2020 ITTF Africa Top 16 Cup which ended in Tunis on Wednesday February 26, 2020.
Saleh, whose last major title was in 2012 defeated number one, Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri 4-3 in the men’s singles final (11-6, 5-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-3) to emerge as the new champion.
Unlike Saleh, Meshref continues her dominance in Africa when she edged out Nigeria’s Offiong Edem 4-1 in the women’s singles,(11-2, 11-8, 8-11, 11-5, 11-6) to retain the title being her fourth trophies in the competition.
In the third place matches, Egypt’s Omar Assar beat Senegal’s Ibrahima Diaw 3-0 (11-6, 11-8, 12-10) while Cameroun’s Sarah Hanffou defeated Egypt’s Yousra Helmy 3-1 (11-8, 5-11, 11-6, 12-10) to settle for bronze medals.
An elated Saleh said: “I am very happy because I could not imagine that I will go past Aruna in this tournament. All I did was to focus from the first point to the end,” he said.
The Egyptian veteran added: “I really don’t want to quit at 40 as I want to play until my body cannot do it anymore. I love table tennis and I will continue.”
For Meshref, winning the title this year was a bit tasking.
“When I started the competition, I just stay focus, play my game and not think about how many times I had won it in the past. I must commend Edem because she is an experienced player who played extremely well. She changed tactic every time which sometimes make it difficult to play against her,” admitted Meshref.
