The African under 19 champion Nour Youssri shines as Egypt takes Gold.
Egypt survived the onslaught of a spirited Algerian team to win Gold in the All Africa Mixed Team Championship in a tense encounter at the Lugogo Stadium in Uganda. A fete they repeated in 2017. Egypt, who qualified for the finals after fending off the hosts Uganda 3-0, lost the opening match to the Mammeri siblings in the mixed doubles match 2-0 against the experienced Ahmed Salah and the young Jana Ashraf.
” It is a good start for our team, as you know it’s an advantage to win the first game in such a tie. We are happy we managed to give our country a head start. Said Koceilla Mammeri, speaking to BCA Tv.
Algerian lead was short-lived as Doha Hany leveled the score in the Women’s singles, cruising past Halla Bouksani 2-0, who gave a good account of herself, almost causing an upset in the second game.
“I thank God I was able to play well and win the match for my country. It was a tough match and I made a lot of mistakes especially in the second game but I was finally able to control the match.” Doha said.
Algeria put their hopes in the Men’s Singles match between Abdel Rahim and Adham Hatem, but it wasn’t to be as the game ended controversially after a disputed call from the line judge. Level at 1-1, Rahim was in control of the third game when Adham smashed at the forehand side, and the line judge gave him the point, which Rahim did not agree. It was a slippery slope for Adham from that point as Rahim could not bring himself to concentrate and save the game. Adham won 2-1 to give the Egyptians a 2-1 advantage going into the Women’s Doubles match.
Nour Youssri overcame a shaky start to assist the experienced Doha Hany in the Women’s Doubles, beating Tanina Mammeri and Mounib Celia 2-0 to give the Egyptians the title.
“It was a very stressful game but I am happy we were able to win the title, especially the fact that our match gave our team the title. This Championships has given me a lot of experience” Nour Youssri
South Africa and hosts Uganda finished in third place.
Earlier in the day, following the tenets of the BCA newly enacted Constitution, the BCA formed the Athlete’s commission to handle and hear the player’s grievances. The commission consists of officials directly elected by the players in line with the BWF Constitution and the IOC charter. Speaking at the player’s meeting held at every championship, the commission’s Chairman, Mr. Donald Mabo from Zambia, updated the players on the various grievances raised in the previous meetings held in Nigeria and Egypt.
“I am happy to announce that the BCA has addressed all the issues we raised in our previous meetings. BCA has and will continue to have the best interest of the players at heart. In this regard, as they continue tirelessly to look for opportunities to realize the dream of having a centre of excellence in Africa, they will provide scholarships to our top talented players.” He said.
BCA will give the Winner of the Men’s and Women’s singles match a one-month scholarship to train at the center of excellence in Denmark. Additionally, to assist the developing Member Associations, the BCA will also sponsor three talented players with scholarships to train in other high-performance centers. Winners of the All Africa under 19 were also awarded similar scholarships. BCA also identified and sponsored two young talented players from Cameroon and Benin for the scholarships.
