Table tennis: Madagascar dominate singles at East Africa Regional Championships

Madagascar, once more, proved the best table tennis-playing nation in the ITTF Easter African bloc, after dominating the singles championship of the East Africa Regional Championships that ended yesterday At Lugogo Indoor Arena.

In the team events, earlier in the four-day tournament, Uganda’s teenage girls shocked Madagascar 3-0 in the women’s semifinal before beating Kenya with the same score in the final to claim a record gold. But Madagascar’s men’s team avenged that defeat with a 3-0 triumph over Uganda in the final to take gold on Tuesday.

In the singles on Thursday, there was a possibility of an all-Uganda final but Samuel Ankunda and Jonathan Senyonga lost their respective semifinal matches 4-1 to Madagascar opponents, hence an all-Madagascar final in which Fabio Rakotoarimanana beat Antoine Razafinarivo 4-1 to take gold.

Interestingly, in the quarterfinals, Ankunda and Senyonga had defeated Madagascar players but the ones they met in the semis seemed a different package.

In the women’s singles, Uganda staged stiff competition with Jemimah Nakawala sweeping away opposition like wind. After stopping Kenya’s Lisa Nasimiyu 4-2, at the Round of 16, she walloped Rwanda’s Hervine Tumukunde 4-0 in the quarterfinal. The semifinal was a rematch with Madagascar’s Karen Hanitra Raharimanana, whom she defeated in team events. This time the France-based professional was not ready to lose to a secondary schooler again. She fought out a 4-3 victory to meet Nakawala’s colleague Parvin Judith Nangozi in the final.

En route, Nangonzi had defeated Madagascar’s Tina Andriantahina 4-0, Rwanda’s Mbabazi Twizerane 4-0, and Mauritian Sandhana Desscann 4-1, and probably she was beaming with confidence. But Raharimanana was a wounded lion.  Her defeat to Nakawala was crucial in Madagascar’s fall to Uganda in the Women’s team finals. She had to prove she was the favourite. She beat Nangonzi 4-1 to claim gold.

Meanwhile, Ankunda defeated Senyonga 3-1 in the third-place playoff to take the men’s singles bronze, while Nakawala Dasscann 3-0 to take bronze.

SELECT SINGLES RESULTS

QUARTERS (MEN)

Jonathan Senyonga 4-1 Zo Razafindralambo

Samuel Ankunda 4-0 Stephen Ravonison

SEMIS

Antoine Razafinarivo 4-1 Senyonga

Fabio Rakotoarimanana 4-1 Ankunda

FINAL

Rakotoarimanana 4-1 Razafinarivo

 SELECT SINGLES RESULTS

QUARTERS (WOMEN)

Jemimah Nakawala 4-0 Hervine Tumukunde

Parvin Nangonzi 4-0 Mbabazi Twizerane

SEMIS

Karen Hanitra Raharimanana 4-3 Nakawala

Nangonzi 4-1 Sandhana Desscann

 FINAL

Raharimanana 4-1 Nangonzi