By SHAMAOMA
MUSONDA and ELIAS CHIPEPO-
CHANDA Muma of Olympafrica Table Tennis Club is fast establishing himself as the king of the under-eight category as he once again won the category in the fourth national invitational tournament at the Olympic Youth Development Centre (OYDC) in Lusaka.
Playing in his third national tournament in the newly introduced under-eight category, Muma proved too much for the competition winning the title without dropping a set.
In the final, Muma defeated Dismus Mutale, his club mate, with a convincing 3-0 victory.
Muma triumphed with set-scores of 11-9, 12-10, 11-3, the win which came after he beat Simon Tembo in the semi-final 2-0.
The same Tembo was however, rewarded for his effort and attack minded play with the Most-Promising-Players of the tournament prize.
Just as Muma, losing finalist Mutale won the semi-final in straight sets, beating Jackson Zulu 2-0.
There were no surprises in the girls’ under-10 category as Janet Mwelwa took the title but was left looking to the future as she now has a more than credible opponent in the form on Monica Mutale who took her through five long sets.
After relatively easy semi-finals in which Mwelwa and Mutale both took simple 3-0 wins off Catherine Mulenga and Martha Mutale, the two played like gladiators in the final after losing the first and fourth sets.
But Mwelwa eventually took the title with set scores of 10-12, 11-9, 12-10, 9-11, 12-10 in one of the tightest finals ever seen at OYDC.
The boys’ under-12 category was also a thrilling five-setter and its story being the come-from-behind win by Sila Tembo over Stephen Sululu after losing the opening two sets and took the title with score of 7-11, 8-11, 14-12, 11-1 11-3.
The boys under-14 kept the heat on as winner Zanige Kaira went five sets to beat Abraham Tembo and after taking two sets, surrendered the next two but had fuel enough in the take to get over the finish-line first with scores of 13-11, 11-5, 9-11, 6-11, 11-6.
The story of five sets continued to be told in the girls’under-16 category, Mubanga Kunda similarly won the opening two sets and lost the next two but recovered to take the title by winning the fifth over Latifah Nalavwe whom she beat 11-7, 11-eight5, 11-13, 9-11, 11-2.
But the boys’ under-16 category did not have such drama as star man Cholwe Hamalambo cruised the games and took the final with a 3-0 win over Danny Njobvu with set scores of 11-8, 11-7, 11-2.
Meanwhile, outgoing Chinese Ambassador to Zambia, Zhou Yuxiao expressed happiness at the budding stars taking in the competition.
Zhou said he was happy that the young players were making steady progress and hoped that the two Chinese coaches attached to the Zambia Table Tennis Association (ZTTA) will play a big role in developing the sport.
He would ensure that the embassy continues supporting the Chinese Ambassadors Trophy which is an annual event on the ZTTA calendar because of the importance he attached to the development of sport.
“As you know China is a powerhouse of ping pong and I would one day want to see Zambian players beating Chinese players at the World championships but that must start by practising very hard to play at the high level.
“My support for the sport will continue and I will tell my replacement to ensure that we continue supporting the Chinese Ambassadors Trophy every year,” he said.
ZTTA patron Haroon Ghumra described Zhou as an all-weather friend for the support rendered to the development of sports in the country.
“We have received tremendous support during your term of office. We thank you so much for this sir,” Ghumra said.
He cited the donation of equipment by the Chinese government which ensured the successful staging of the Zone-Six tournament in Lusaka in February this year
Zhou also donated equipment to the players in form of racquets and balls at the tournament.