by Ian Marshall, Editor
One year ago when the event was staged in Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Marwa Alhodaby secured both the under 21 women’s singles and junior singles titles, the latter an event which she had also won the previous year when the tournament was staged in La Marsa, Tunisia.
Equally, the record of Youssef Abdel-Aziz is daunting, like Marwa Alhodaby he claimed the junior boys’ singles title in both Abidjan and in La Marsa; in addition last year he won the men’s singles title at the 2018 African Youth Games in Algiers, as well as at the Arab Championships in Cairo.
In Accra, in the under 21 men’s team event he lines up alongside Mahmoud Helmy, Omar Elhamady and Ahmed Elborhamy; meanwhile, in the under 21 women’s singles competition, Marwa Alhodaby is supported by sister Mariam Alhodaby in addition to Sarah Abousetta and Hend Fathy. Both outfits start as favourites for gold; each occupies the top seeded place in the draw.
Likewise in the junior boys’ team event, Egypt reserves the top seeded position, the name of Ahmed Elborhamy appearing in the selection as it does in the junior boys’ team competition. He is the leading name being supported by Marwan Adelwahab, Abdelrahman Dendan and Gawad Elherazy.
Meanwhile, for the junior girls, it is the second seeded spot for the Egyptian outfit formed by Hend Fathy, Sara Elhakem, Alaa Yehia and Shad Sameh; Mauritius occupies top spot being led by Nandeshwaree Jalim, the junior girls’ singles runner up at the recent 2019 Ghana Junior and Cadet Open. Oumehani Hosenally and Sandhana Desscann complete selection.
Likewise in the cadet boys’ team event, represented by Zayyan Hossein and Ryan Descann, Mauritius occupies top spot; in the cadet girls’ team competition, the highest honour belongs to Tunisia’s Maram Zoghlami and Farah Mahjoub.
The team events conclude on Wednesday 10th April.
2019 African Youth, Junior and Cadet Championships: Newsletter No.1 (Saturday 6th April)
