As Algeria, Mauritius, Uganda, & South Africa look to rain on their Parade.
The 2023 All African senior championships are promising to be a good show for the coming days with all the stars of the African continent present.
Scheduled to start on Monday 13th, February 2023, in Benoni, South Africa, the much-awaited event of the year, and premier event for BCA has record 13 countries participating in the team event and 15 countries in the individual event.
Hosted in the city of Ekurhuleni the local organizing team led by the ever hard working Badminton South Africa President Margretha Prinsloo have put the preparations of the championships in high gear as they plan for the opening ceremony to be graced by Ekurhuleni Mayor Tanya Campbel and the BCA President Michel Bau.
“This is a great honor for Badminton South Africa, who won the bid to host the AASC in 2020 under the leadership of our dear departed President the late Dr. Klaas. I wish to thank my members, sponsors and her excellency Mayor Tanya Campbel for their enormous contribution towards the success of this tournament. Said President Margretha.
Drawn in group C alongside Cameroon and Zambia, Egypt is ready to reclaim the title they won in 2021 in Uganda.
“I have very high expectation for team Egypt in all Africa 2023, we’ve been the winners of 2021 And with no doubt, we’ll be capable to keep our place with such a committed and devoted team stated Meena Tarek El Tanany, the team manager.
Cameroon is slowly becoming more involved in the African Championship which is a good sign of the growth of developing countries, willing to participate in the African Championship. The 2021 Champion, the Egyptian Team, will not make it easy for the other opponent to grab the title as they have everything to lose. Especially as the 2024 edition will be held in their country.
South Africa who last hosted the Championships in 2017 are confident of their team, the national coach Stewart Carson has wade through with a strong team as they want to lift the trophy on home soil.
’ We’ve been preparing for the last three years, the last three years of preparing the young team since the championships in Benin have seen us come up with a formidable team for the future. stated the Coach from South Africa. We are confident because our players are morally in good shape, and the motivation will come from playing in front of their families and friends.
In the group D, the seeded team is Mauritius, joined by the unseeded Reunion island and Botswana. Participating in their second Championships, Reunion island is slowly announcing its presence at the African highest stage. In the edition of the championships they won 2 bronze medals.
‘’ Our first appearance was a trial and we did our best and the result was beyond our expectation., This time we have trained well and we are aiming to do better than last time’ stated Ly Ho-Chai. Moreover, we will be using this Championships for the preparation for the Indian Ocean Games happening in August 2023 and hope to trounce our perennial archrival Mauritius.
The Islanders, have had the opportunity to do only one tournament in France before, are now having more tournaments to play and this is a great opportunity for them to improve their national level. Highly encouraged by the President of the ‘Ligue Nouvelle de Badminton Réunion’ who stated taking part of the African Championship is primordial. As such, they have invested to give the team the best training. Julien Fuchs who is a well-known technician came all the way from France to do the training camp.
‘An eye of an expert can change everything’ supports Christophe Chenut.
Another great team who are favorites to win the Championships is Mauritius. Buoyed by return of Kate Ludvick after her suspension. The combination of Kate and Julien Paul will for sure bring the much-needed confidence to the Team. This competition is crucial for Mauritius as they want Gold. Coach Munna will push them to the highest as it has been nearly one year since he is in charge of the Team. ‘we will do our best’, he said.
Algeria, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Lesotho are in group A. Algeria which has been the runner up in the last edition is set to make this edition a memorable one for them. The show is on!
