by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor

Omar Ammous, Aboubaker Bourass and Mootezz Saadaoui form the Junior Boys’ Team; for the girls it is Manel Baklouti, Fadwa Garci and Abir Haj Salah.

Notably, it is a group of players, who one year ago in the first week of April, excelled at the 2016 Algeria Junior and Cadet Open staged in the country’s capital city of Algiers.

Impressively, Omar Ammous beat Mootezz Saadaoui in the final of the Junior Boys’ Singles event, with Aboubaker Bourass reaching the round of the last eight.

Similarly, Abir Haj Salah won the Junior Girls’ Singles title, whilst Manel Baklouti and Fadwa Garci were both semi-finalists.

Repeat performances and podium finishes may well await in Rades.

Next in the line in the Junior Boys’ Team event is the Saudi Arabia trio formed by Abdulaziz Alamri, Turki Almutairi and Ali Allail; Egypt’s Ahmed Meshref, Ziad Wael and Atef Ben Salah occupy the third seeded spot.

In the Junior Girls’ Team the second seeded spot is occupied by the Indian outfit, comprising Selena Selvakumar, Kushi Vishvanath and Manushree Patil. Algeria’s Hiba Feredj teams with Egypt’s Tikouk Marqua and Razan Fawzi to form the third seeded combination.

Meanwhile, in the Cadet Boys’ Team event, Italy’s Matteo Gualdi and John Oyebode head list with Algeria’s Abderrahm and Adelbasset Chaichi being the second seeds.

Likewise in the Cadet Girls’ Team competition, Italy is to fore. Elisa Armanini, Jamila Laurent and Evelyn Vivarelli form the top seeded comnination; second on the list is that of Egypt’s Farida Badawy and Hana Goda.

The team events conclude on Tuesday 4th April.