GCTTA pounces on Zone 6

By Filipe

The recently held Zone 6 Championships (23/24 March; John Barrable Hall) was a celebration of GCTTA representation; with no less than the Tournament Referee, the Tournament Director, table administrator and six International Umpires in attendance for the duration of the tournament. If one includes the presence and attendance by the President of SATTB, also a GCTTA representative, then ‘pouncing’ might be a poor choice of wordiness.

The Zone 6 Championships is an African Tournament that is held annually (when possible) to encourage and expose African Countries south of Angola to the rigors of tournament play. This year, 5 Countries; Malawi, Zambia, Lesotho, Botswana and South Africa (Zimbabwe withdrawing at the last minute,) participated in the colourful staging of players, flair and customs.

The end results were rather lopsided with South Africa claiming the bulk of the medals and trophies on offer; not that the perceived fait accompli ever deterred opposing participants from giving their best performances ever. Even amongst the South African participants, upsets were evident; what with young Zodwa Maphanga making it to the Ladies Singles finals in a flurry of well placed counter strokes, forehand smashes and winning tenacity. In the end, Sameera Maal’s experience was just too much for the young athlete to overcome and trounce.

All in all, fun was had by all. In the words of the President of SATTB: “ We thank our hosts, the South African Table Tennis Board, and their sponsor, the National Lotteries Board, for making these Zonal Championships a reality.”