SA Senior Open Results 2006
Sameera and Shane do it Again
The recently held SA Senior Tournament down in Cape Town, proved to be a one sided affair between Sameera Maal and Shane Overmeyer, two of South Africa’s top Table Tennis players: Sameera took for herself four gold medals (Team event, mixed doubles, ladies doubles and singles) while Shane deposed of his singles title challenger, Luke Abrahams, with ease (4 games to Love.) Both players displayed an absolute determination, exciting brilliance and single-minded domination of their opponents during their quest for top honours.
As tournaments go, the tournament in question did not produce the usual Prima Dona antics and temper displays that spectators have become so accustomed too. Instead it produced brilliant rallies, astounding returns and dazzling stroke play, especially from the hordes of Western Province male participants.
Team Gauteng as a whole, was divided between their male and female contingencies. In the end, it was the female participants that displayed greater prowess in the search for gold. Their male counterparts had to be content with bronze in the team event. On the individual front, Osuji, Rainer and R Vice (WG) scraped themselves into the last 16 of the open section, only to be unceremoniously knocked out by on-form WP players.
On the down side, a seemingly lack of mass interest in the tournament turned a splendid tourney into a dreary spectacle. There was just no atmosphere to speak off. A sad state of affairs for the class of stroke-play on display was the best to be seen anywhere on the SA continent.
Given the calibre of players presently practicing the game, one cannot but wonder at what it will take to bring back the numbers to the sport of Table Tennis: Prima Dona antics? Temper tantrums (remember how John McEnroe attracted the crowds)?
When all is said and done, and irrespective how one looks at it, Table Tennis won the day.
The tournament results are as follows:
| Team: | ||
|---|---|---|
| Mens | Ladies | |
| Gold | WP A | GC |
| Silver | WP B | GN |
| Bronze | EG | WP A |
| Singles: | ||
| Mens | Ladies | |
| Gold | S Overmeyer | S Maal |
| Silver | L Abrahams | J Saunders |
| Bronze | T Lingeveldt | A Berkowitz |
| Doubles: | ||
| Mens | Ladies | |
| Gold | Jones/Snyders (WP) | Maal/Samowitz (GC) |
| Silver | Lingeveldt/Lawrence (WP) | Barit/van Rooyen (WP) |
| Bronze | Wesson/Mostert (WP) | v/d Walt/Berkowitz (EG) |
| Mixed: | Gold | Lingeveldt/Maal |
| Silver | Abrahams/Samowitz | |
| Bronze | Jones/Witbooi |
