Egypt Clubs rule 2023 African Club Championships

TABLE TENNIS Egypt Clubs rule 2023 African Club Championships

Hassan Abdulsalam 14:45 - 03.05.2023

Egypt’s ENPPI and Petrojet are the champions of the 2023 Africa Table Tennis Club.

Egypt’s ENPPI and Petrojet are the champions of the 2023 Africa Table Tennis Club.

The clubs championship is the first of the three championships slated to be held in Kenya at Nairobi’s Moi International Sports Centre indoor gymnasium.

ENPPI led by Nadeem Ahmed as well as Ghallab Ali, Hussein Mo Amen, and Saleh Mohamed- defended the continental title with a convincing 3-0 win over Uganda’s Kibuli Table Tennis Club in the men’s final.

Petrojet, on the other hand, hammered Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) 3-0 in the one-sided women’s team final to lift the coveted title previously held by compatriots Al-Ahly.

Africa Table Tennis Clubs championships
Egypt’s ENPPI and Petrojet are the champions of the 2023 Africa Table Tennis Club.

The best-placing Kenyan club in the men's competition was Nairobi City, which was led by retired internationals Anthony Mathenge and Derick Inyanje. They finished fourth overall. Kevin Mwangi and Mike Otieno's Nairobi teammates fell to CBE 0-3 in the semifinal.

Great feelings winning Clubs Championship

ENPPI’s Coach, Ayman Zakareya, has revealed that it is a great feeling for him to win the Club Championship despite few preparations.

Africa Table Tennis Club Championships
Egypt’s ENPPI and Petrojet are the champions of the 2023 Africa Table Tennis Club.

He said: “I want to thank Allah for the win. We just prepared normally and arrived in Nairobi two days early just to adapt. We were very focused from the day we landed in Nairobi-such a great feeling I must admit.”

ENPPI’s star player Ghallab was all smiles: “I am very happy we have now won three Africa Club Championships and now we are at the top in Africa. We still have the league finals in Egypt to deal with, so the sky is the limit.”

Coach Mathenge who is a longstanding Kenya number 1, lauded his boys for their resilience and gusto.

Egypt’s ENPPI and Petrojet are the champions of the 2023 Africa Table Tennis Club.

“We played our hearts out, but at the end of it all, there is a winner and loser. You win some and lose some. But I believe the Egyptians are beatable if only we can practice a lot more."

The three-day Africa Club Championships preceded the ITTF-Africa Cup, which served off on Thursday, May 4 to 6.

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