Kenyan clubs miss podium at Africa Table Tennis Club Champs

• Egyptian clubs were crowned champions
• Nairobi was Kenya’s best club at fourth place
• The tournament was staged at the Kasarani Gymnasium

Egypt’s Enppi and Petrojet are the 2023 Africa Club Champions following brilliant displays at Nairobi’s Moi International Sports Centre indoor gymnasium.

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

Petrojet, on the other hand, dealt Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) a 3-0 blow in the ladies singles final to lay their hands on the coveted title previously held by compatriots Al-Ahly.

Nairobi City men’s side, coached by retired internationals Anthony Mathenge and Derick Inyanje, was the best placed Kenyan club in fourth overall place. Nairobi lads spearheaded by Kevin Mwangi and Mike Otieno lost 0-3 to CBE in the semifinal.

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

Played our hearts out 

“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 Egyptians are beatable if only we can practice a lot more,” remarked Mathenge.

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.”

Enppi’s Coach Ayman Zakareya, on his part, quipped: “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.”

Petrojet captain Alhodaby Marwa sounded quite febrile of their Cup victory and here’s what she had to say: “At the beginning of the matches it was tough because of the humidity but I eased up as play wore on.  The Ethiopian team was quite a challenge but we managed.  We will go back to prepare for the Egyptian League but I shall remain behind for the World Cup qualifiers.”

Marwa is a twin sister to her teammate and best friend Marian Alhodaby who also contributed immensely to the team’s success in Nairobi.

The ITTF Cup starts Thursday 

The three-day Africa Club Championships preceded the ITTF-Africa Cup which serves off on Thursday through to Saturday.

Enppi received the Africa Club Championship trophy from ATTF President Khalid El Sahly while Petrojet received theirs from ITTF and ITTF Vice-President Wahid Ashadu in the presence of Egyptian Ambassader H.E. Wael Nasr Attia and Andrew Mudibo, the President of Kenya Table Tennis Association and ATTF member.

Final standings

Men

1. Enppi (Eg

2. Kibuli TT Club (Uganda)

3. Commrecial Banl of Ethiopia (CBE)

4. Nairobi City (Kenya)

5. City Eagles (Nairobi)

6. Vision TTC (Rwanda)

Women

1. Petrojet (Egypt)

2. CBE (Ethiopia)

3. Nakasero TTC (Uganda)

4. Vision TTC (Rwanda)

5. City Eagles (Kenya)

6. Nairobi City (Kenya)