by Ian Marshall, Editor
Similar to Egypt, on the first day of action they had remained unbeaten; on the second day in their concluding group phase contest, they were extended the full five match distance by the Mauritius trio comprising Zayya Hossein, Muhammad Baboolall and Ryan Desscan.
Mainstay of the victory was Abdelbasset Chaichi. He accounted for both Zayyan Hossein (4-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-6) and Muhammad Baboolall (8-11, 11-5, 11-9, 12-10); hero of the hour was Islem Tifoura, in the vital fifth and deciding match of the fixture, he overcame Zayyan Hossein (5-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-5) to seal the victory.
Direct entries to the semi-finals, Egypt now meets Nigeria, Algeria confronts Tunisia.
Required to compete in the quarter-final round, Nigeria represented by Abayomi Animasahun, Taiwo Mati and Azeez Solanke recorded a 3-0 win in opposition to Togo’s Kossi Akakpo, Soudes Alassani and Atarou Assou. Similarly, in the opposite half of the draw, Tunisia with Youssef Ben Attia, Aboubaker Bourass and Louay Hamrouni on duty, secured the same margin of victory when facing the host nation combination of Joseph Amissah, Oscar Forson and Emmanuel Ofori.
Notably, in a likewise vein, in the junior boys’ team event, Egypt represented by Marwan Abdelwahhab, Abdelrahaman Dendan and Ahmed Elbhoramy gained a direct entry to the semi-finals, as did Nigeria who selected from Emmanuel Augustine, Abayomi Animasahun, Jamiu Ayanwale and Azeez Solanke. Both outfits finishing in first places in their respective groups.
At the semi-final stage Egypt meets the Tunisian combination of Youssef Ben Attia, Aboubaker Bourass and Louay Hamrouni; Nigeria opposes Togo’s Kossi Akakpo, Eke Victor Kueviakoe and Sedik Tchagole.
Meanwhile in the cadet boys’ team competition, as a result of group first places, Nigeria represented by Jamiu Ayanwale and Taiwo Mati alongside Tunisia’s Youssef Abid, Habib Ameur and Khalil Sta duly advanced directly to the penultimate round. Jamiu Ayanwale and Taiwo Mati now face Egypt who select from Marwan Gamal, Amr Mahfouz and Mohammed Sameh. Similarly they secured first place in their initial phase group without surrendering a single individual match.
In the opposite half of the draw Youssef Abid, Habib Ameur and Khalil Sta confront Algeria’s Abderrahmane Azzala, Abdelwahab Bellahsene.
The semi-finals of the under 21 men’s team, junior boys’ team and cadet boys’ team events will be played on Tuesday 9th April.
2019 African Youth, Junior and Cadet Championships: Newsletter No.3 (Monday 8th April)
