Kenyans miss out on podium places as continental tennis club tourney concludes in Nairobi

Nairobi City men’s team, under the tutelage of retired internationals Anthony Mathenge and Derick Inyanje, was the best placed Kenyan club, in fourth overall, as action concluded at the three-day Africa Tennis Club championships held at Kasarani.

Egypt’s Enppi and Petrojet were crowned champions of the 2023 edition of the competition following brilliant displays.

Enppi, a team that had Nadeem Ahmed, Ghallab Ali, Hussein Mo Amen and Saleh Mohamed, representing, successfully defended the continental title with a convincing 3-0 win over Uganda’s Kibuli Table Tennis Club in the men’s final.

Team Kenya upbeat ahead of ITTF tourney at Kasarani

Petrojet, on the other hand, dealt Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) a 3-0 blow in the ladies singles final to lay their hands on the coveted title previously held by compatriots Al-Ahly.

The Kenyan men’s team spearheaded by Kevin Mwangi and Mike Otieno lost 0-3 to CBE in the semifinal with coach Mathenge, who is a longstanding Kenya one, lauded his boys for their resilience and gusto.

“We played our hearts out, but at the end of it all, there is a winner and loser. You win some and lose some. But I believe Egyptians are beatable if only we can practice a lot more,” remarked Mathenge.

Enppi’s star player Ghallab was all smiles after the win. “I am very happy we have now won three Africa Club Championships and now we are at the top in Africa. We still have the league finals in Egypt to deal with, so the sky is the limit.”

Enppi’s coach Ayman Zakareya, on his part, quipped, “We just prepared normally and arrived in Nairobi two days early just to adapt. We were very focused from the day we landed in Nairobi-such a great feeling I must admit.”

Meanwhile, Petrojet captain Alhodaby Marwa says the matches were tough, in the beginning, because of the humidity but they eased up as play wore on.

“The Ethiopian team was quite a challenge but we managed. We will go back to prepare for the Egyptian League but I shall remain behind for the World Cup qualifiers,” she said.

Marwa is a twin sister to her teammate and best friend Marian Alhodaby who also contributed immensely to the team’s success in Nairobi.

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Rankings

Men

1. Enppi (Egy)

2. Kibuli TT Club (Uganda)

3. Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (Ethiopia)

4. Nairobi City (Kenya)

5. City Eagles (Nairobi)

6.  Vision TTC (Rwanda)

 Women

1. Petrojet (Egypt)

2. CBE (Ethiopia)

3. Nakasero TTC (Uganda)

4. Vision TTC (Rwanda)

5. City Eagles (Kenya)

6. Nairobi City (Kenya)