Elite Junior Training Camp,
ITTF Junior Circuit Championships
and 18th African Youth Championships.
Cairo, Egypt
6 to 17 April

A young but excited team left South Africa’s shores on the 3 April after a three-day acclimatization training camp at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria, to put their Table Tennis skills to the test under international scrutiny and African skies.

The whole Egyptian experience kicked-off on the 6 April with an Elite Junior Training Camp. The attending Senior Coach, Mr. Aleksey Yefremov from Belarus, ensured that for the next three days, the youngsters would be put through their paces and tested beyond their comfort zones.

It must be said that young Terence Mathole took centre stage when the Coach took a liking to him. Not only did the Coach spend time encouraging the little one, but also congratulated Terence on a job well done on conclusion of the training camp.

The ITTF Junior Circuit Championships kicked off on the 9 April with the group matches.
                                                   
Although the South African youngsters were well prepared, the standard of play was just to high - Keegan was the only cadet to progress to the knockout stages but was knocked out in round one by Egypt.

Of the Juniors, Khanyisile, Zodwa, Kurt, Sabu, Itumeleng and Che made it through the group stages unscathed but faced tough opposition in the knockout stages of the Championships. Che Meyer faired the best by making it through to the second round by beating Jordan 4 games to 3.

All in all, a well rounded Championships that was enjoyed by the South African contingency.

On the 12 April, the team took time off from the rigors of competition in anticipation of the African Junior Championships.

On the 14 April, the African Junior Championships kicked off with a flurry of activities. The Cadets performed well but once again, the class of table tennis on display was just too much for the youngsters. The final results are as follows:

The Juniors once again played their level best. Unfortunately, the draw was very oppressive which meant that they had to face tough opponents from the word go.

The final results are as follows:

Little Terence and Thulile tried their best at maintaining their composure throughout the tournaments, but the enormity of the occasion racked their nerves badly.

The disappointment at not being able to bring back medals was stressful on the athletes, but the experienced gained, will stand them strong in time to come.