The Cairo International Stadium witnessed an electrifying start to the All Africa Senior Individual Championships on Friday, February 16. With the individual events kicking off at 9 am, badminton enthusiasts were treated to a day filled with thrilling matches and surprising outcomes.
In a gripping encounter, Mohamed Abdelaziz Ouchefoun from Algeria faced off against Khemtish Rai Nundah from Mauritius. The Algerian emerged victorious in a closely contested three-set match with scores of 21-18, 8-21, 21-17. Abdelaziz, in a post-match interview with BCA TV, expressed his satisfaction, stating, “It was a good opening match for me as it will enable me to play better and more consistently in my upcoming singles matches.”
Another intense battle unfolded between Augustus Owinyi from Uganda and Timothy Kafunda from Zambia. The Ugandan emerged triumphant with a hard-fought victory, securing the match with scores of 21-15, 15-21, 21-19.
In a match that went down to the decider game, Ahmed Ali Abdelmajeed Elbahnasawy from Egypt faced off against Mohamed Abderrahime Belarbi. Despite a valiant effort, it was Belarbi who claimed victory with scores of 24-26, 23-21, 10-21. Belarbi, fresh from the Thomas Cup qualifier finals, acknowledged the difficulty of following up with more matches but expressed happiness in securing a win.
The Women’s singles round of 32 witnessed a thrilling encounter between Nour Ahmed Youssri from Egypt, seeded number 3, and Gladys Mbabazi from Uganda. Mbabazi emerged victorious with scores of 21-18, 12-21, 19-21. In a post-match interview, Gladys shared her joy, stating, “I am very happy to be winning today against Egypt’s number 1 and also in front of the home crowd. It shows that I can handle pressure and play well. I hope that this win will bring me more victories in this individual championship.”
Notable was Obiegue Solomon from Equatorial Guinea, making his debut in the competition against Adel Hamek, seeded number 6 from Algeria. Despite the loss, Solomon displayed discipline and skills, ending the match with a commendable score of 14-21, 21-23.
In the women’s doubles round of 16, Megan De Beer & Johanita Scholtz from South Africa faced a tough challenge against Yasmina Chibah & Linda Mazri from Algeria. The South African duo emerged victorious with scores of 17-21, 21-19, 21-19. In an interview with BCA TV, the South African girls shared their thoughts, “It was a really tough opening match for us facing the runners-up of the previous edition. We had to play all out, but at the end of the day, we are happy to be on the winning side and continue our journey.”
Stay tuned on the official Facebook page and YouTube channel for more exciting matches. Detailed results are available https://bwf.tournamentsoftware.com/tournament/8389008c-2c3c-452e-aa5f-29b84251ac44/matches/20240216.
The All Africa Senior Individual Championships promise more thrilling badminton action in the days to come.