Arysteq Simonis Storm Schools season opener doubles up
The first Arysteq Simonis Schools Tournament required two days of competition last weekend to crown its new champions at the Wanderers Sports Hall in Windhoek.
With a record 80 entries, comprising 53 boys and 27 girls competing across the U11 to U19 age categories for medals and trophies, this year’s event became the first two-day competition in the tournament’s history.
In the boys’ U19 category, St Paul’s College’s Kamrouz Ghayouri once again stood out as he topped the standings to clinch the gold medal.
The 14-year-old has become a household name in junior table tennis and is no stranger to punching above his weight at the event.
He once again started his season on a high note, clinching triple gold across three age categories (U19, U17 and U15).
Organisers confirmed that players are allowed to compete above their age categories as befitting their level of competition.
Ghayouri had also closed out his season last year with a triple-gold haul in the third round in May, the fifth round in August and the sixth and final round in September, with the early treble setting him on course for another successful campaign.
ITTF coaching
His mother, Taschiona !Gawaxab, confirmed to Sport Wrap yesterday that she has made arrangements for him to train with a Level Two International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF)-accredited coach.
“[The country] doesn’t have any ITTF-accredited coaches, so I am bringing Nigerian coach Promise Fayele this week to get him ready for the international tournaments lined up for the year,” she said.
Ghayouri is eyeing participation at the ITTF-Africa Youth Championships from 20 to 27 July in Accra, Ghana.
He is also preparing for the Summer Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal, from 31 October to 13 November and the Youth Games in Maputo, Mozambique, from 4 to 13 December.
The silver and bronze medals in the U19 boys’ section went to Ghayouri’s schoolmates Agape Chicalu and Jason Kadandara respectively, while Highland High School’s Fillemon Ikanda secured the second bronze medal.
Right at Ghayouri’s heels in the U17 category were Chicalu and Ikanda once again, who claimed silver and bronze medals respectively, with the second bronze going to Silas Anguku of Hage Geingob High School.
Ghayouri’s final gold medal in the U15 category was again followed by Chicalu’s silver medal, while Kadandara and Anguku secured the bronze medals.
Other top performers
In the girls’ U19 category, Lian Gebauer of Deutsche Höhere Privatschule Windhoek (DHPS) came out on top to clinch the gold medal. She was followed by Cadence Farmer of St Paul’s College, who secured silver.
Karolina Shigwedha of Ella du Plessis and Suverasaneje Ikorua of Concordia College shared the bronze medals.
In the girls’ U17 category, Farmer pipped Gebauer to secure gold, with the latter settling for silver. The bronze medals once again went to Shigwedha and Ikorua.
Farmer secured her second gold medal in the U15 category, with Ikorua claiming the silver medal.
Olof Palme Primary completed a clean sweep of the bronze medals in the category through Esther Nelengé and Wilhelmina Shivute.
Boys U13: 1 Terence Kadandara (St Paul’s College), 2 Eliakim Namhila (Olof Palme Primary), 3 Don von Kunow (DHPS); Malte Helmut Schultz (DHPS).
Girls U13: 1 Nelengé, 2 Sylvi Ikanda (Hillside Primary), 3 Shivute; Emilia Amwaama (Olof Palme).
Boys U11: 1 Killian Beukes (St Joseph’s Primary), 2 Handura Unondjamo (The Gardener Academy), 3 Daniel Petrus (Olof Palme); Mbundje Fortune (Olof Palme).
Girls U11: 1 Nelengé, 2 Ikanda, 3 Victoria Namuplo (Olof Palme); Hulda Nambudinga (Olof Palme).
Tournament director Theo Beukes extended gratitude to Arysteq and Simonis Storm for their fourth consecutive year of sponsorship.
“Their support has been the backbone of this event’s growth and innovation,” he said.
The second tournament is scheduled for April, with dates yet to be confirmed.
