CAIRO — Seven gold medals. Sixteen medals in all. Ten places at the World Championships. Egypt’s table tennis team had plenty to celebrate at the African Championships in Tangier. But the real test lies ahead.
The team topped the medal table with seven gold, three silver and six bronze medals. Five men and five women also qualified for the 2027 World Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan, scheduled for May.
The results underlined the squad’s strength across the team, singles, doubles and mixed doubles events. Now comes the challenge of carrying that form onto the world stage.
Team triumphs
The women set the pace. Hana Goda, Dina Meshref and Hend Fathy helped the Pharaohs beat hosts Morocco 3–0 in the semi-finals. Tunisia fell by the same score in the final. The team secured the title without dropping a match.
The men faced a tougher test. Their final against Algeria went to the wire, but they edged it 3–2. The victory completed a clean sweep of the team titles and gave the campaign a strong start.
Egypt added two more golds in the singles. Goda beat Meshref 4–1 in an all-Egyptian women’s final. Youssef Abdelaziz then defeated Omar Assar by the same score to take the men’s title. Meshref and Assar settled for silver.
Doubles dominance
The success continued in the doubles, where established partnerships added to the medal haul.
Goda and Meshref won the women’s doubles title, giving Egypt its 15th crown in the event’s history. Abdelaziz and Mohamed El-Beiali retained the men’s doubles title for a second year running, taking the country’s total to 16.
The mixed doubles final produced another all-Egyptian contest. Abdelaziz and Mariam Al-Hodaby edged Badr Mostafa and Farida Badawy 3–2 to take gold. Mostafa and Badawy settled for silver.
Their win extended the country’s run to ten consecutive mixed doubles titles, bringing its historical total to 18.
Meshref took silver in the women’s singles, while Assar finished second in the men’s. Mostafa and Badawy added another silver in the mixed doubles.
The medal haul also included several bronze finishes. Fathy and Badawy took bronze in the women’s doubles. Helmy and Mostafa did the same in the men’s event. Assar and Goda claimed bronze in the mixed doubles. Fathy, Al-Hodaby and Mostafa also picked up bronze medals in the singles events.
The spread of medals was telling. Egypt did not depend on one star or one successful pairing. Its players delivered across the programme, helping the team finish ahead of its African rivals.
World bound
Tangier brought a reward beyond the medals. Ten Egyptian players qualified for the 2027 World Championships in Astana.
The men are Assar, Abdelaziz, El-Beiali, Mostafa and Mahmoud Helmy. The women are Goda, Meshref, Al-Hodaby, Badawy and Fathy.
Their African titles provide a solid platform, but the challenge in Astana will be different. They will face a wider field and a greater range of playing styles, testing the strength that served them so well in Tangier.
Next challenge
Egypt leaves Tangier having reinforced its position at the top of African table tennis. The team titles showed its strength as a unit, while the singles and doubles events highlighted the depth of talent across the squad.
The World Championships will demand more. Ten players have earned their places, and Tangier has given them plenty to build on. Now comes the test of carrying that continental dominance onto the world stage.
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