by Olalekan Okusan, ITTF-Africa Press Officer
Pertinently, the competition that follows the principles of the Youth Olympic Games. Three events for players in the 14 years to 18 years age groups are staged; the events being Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles and Mixed Team. Each national association is limited to one male and one female player.
A total of 24 men and 24 women compete in Algiers; next in line to Youssef Abdel-Aziz in the Men’s Singles event is Tunisia’s Youssef Ben Attia followed by Algeria’s Abdelbasset Chaichi and the Ivory Coast’s André Philippe Bly.
Meanwhile, in the Women’s Singles event, Algeria and Tunisia are likewise to the fore. On duty for the host nation, Loubna Djedjik is the second seed; Tunisia’s Manuel Baklouti and Nandeshwaree Lilowtee Jalim of Mauritius complete the top four names.
The national associations represented are: Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Congo Brazzaville, Congo Democratic, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Seychelles, Togo, Tunisia and Uganda.
Play in the Men’s Singles and Women’s Singles events is scheduled to conclude on Saturday 21st July; a free day follows with the two day Mixed Team competition commencing on Monday 23rf July.
It is the third edition of the Games, the first being held in Rabat, Morocco in June and July 2010, the second in Gaborone, Botswana in May 2014.
