by Simon Daish
Facing little trouble Mariem Ben Cheikh came through her Round of 16 encounter against Cote d’Ivoire’s Lisette Kouadio (11-4, 11-5, 11-7, 11-7) to join fellow compatriot Meriem Naser in the last eight and set up a meeting with Mariam Alhodaby of Egypt.
Two further players came through their Round of 16 matches victorious as Egypt’s Marwa Alhodaby and Cote d’Ivoire’s Akissi Drame saw off Abir Haj Salah (13-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-8, 13-11) and Zaynab Amhimmid (11-6, 9-11, 11-9, 11-3, 11-7) respectively.
Over in the Under 21 Men’s Singles draw two Algerian competitors have progressed to the quarter-finals after Naim Karali and Yaniss Douifi both ended the day’s action with positive results.
Naim Karali prevailed across six games to eliminate Tunisia’s Nadim Ben Mekki from the competition (11-7, 6-11, 11-3, 12-14, 11-7, 11-7) while there was an exciting duel in the top half of the draw as Algeria’s Yaniss Douifi edged out Aboubaker Bourass (11-13, 11-4, 11-9, 8-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-4), who also represents the host nation.
There were just the two fixtures taking place in the Junior Girls’ Doubles tournament on Day Five in Tunis, and in both instances the victories went to South Africa.
Pumza Makiva and her partner Keshmika Sivnarain condemned Sandhana Desscann and Nandeshwaree Jalim to an opening round defeat (11-7, 11-13, 11-9, 13-11), and the pairing of Lekeasha Johnson and Simeen Mookrey stormed to a 3-0 triumph against Congo Brazzaville’s Beria Francelle Gamago and Fransnelle Miandengue (11-3, 11-8, 11-8).
Day Five of the 2017 ITTF African Junior and Cadet Championships also saw the Cadet Boys’ Singles qualifying group stage take place as six groups of players battled it out for a chance to reach the main draw.
Libya’s Habeb Alajaebi was one of the players to advance beyond the qualifying round after he registered 3-1 successes in all three of his Group 4 matches, and Christian Mbongia’s victories over Mohamed Kamara, Yukail Naidoo and Abdulsalam Hireez ensures that Congo Democratic will also feature in the main competition.
2017 ITTF African Junior and Cadet Championships – Day Five Quote
