Arysteq/Simonis Storm Singles series marked by upsets and classy table tennis

The fourth instalment in the Arysteq Asset Management and Simonis Storm Schools Tournament Series took place on 8 June 2024 at Wanderers, Pioneers Park in Windhoek. The players contested in under 11, 13, 15, 17 and 19 age groups with no restrictions in terms of participation in the number of qualifying age groups.

The number of overall participants were less than expected due to the school holidays. It however did not impact on the quality of table tennis that was seen on Saturday. The standard of table tennis continue to rise and a number of young players are showing potential to join the national squad in the near future.

The results were dominated by the national team members, however some surprise upsets happened amongst the team members. The most notable upsets in the junior men category were caused Agape Chicalu in the under 15 age group when he first eliminated Kamrouz Ghayouri in the quarter final and then also ended Caden Bosman’s hope of a gold medal in the semi-finals. Agape’s winning streak was ended by top-seed Kevin Zhang in the final.

The rivalry in the under 11 age group continued with Wilhelm Twyman and Terence Kandandara. Terence, who had the better of Wilhelm in the previous 2 meetings, had to bow the knee during this occasion and Wilhelm walked away with the gold.

Both Kamrouz and Caden however recovered from the above upsets to win the under 13 and under 19 age groups respectively. Kevin also took gold in the under 17 age group when he overcame Kamrouz in a tough final.

The junior ladies’ division also produced some surprises. Top-seeded Lian Gebauer had a surprise exit from the under 15 age group at the hands of Suverasaneje Ikorua in the quarter final. Suverasaneje, who is not a national team member, lost to Cadence Farmer in the semi-final. Justina Namupolo pulled out all stops to overcome fellow-national team member, Cadence, in the final – her first time to defeat Cadence in the Singles Series during 2024.

The under 13 age group was won by top-seeded Cadence, when she defeated Suve Suverasaneje in the final. Lian recovered from the earlier loss to win both the under 17 and under 19 age groups by defeating Cadence Farmer in both finals.

The complete results are as follows: