A wave of young talent took centre stage at the ongoing ITTF-Africa Championships in Tunis, Tunisia, as teenage debutants stunned seasoned veterans in the second round of the singles events — marking what many are calling a generational shift in African table tennis.
Veterans such as Monday Olabiyi and Farouk Salifou of Benin Republic, Amgad Mahrous of Sudan, and Simon Ebode of Cameroon all crashed out of the Men’s Singles. Olabiyi was swept aside 4–0 by Tunisian teenager Youssef Aidli, Mahrous lost by the same margin to Uganda’s Jonathan Senyonga, and Salifou suffered a 4–0 defeat to Nigeria’s Abdulbasit Abdulfatai.
Top contenders Omar Assar, Youssef Abdelaziz, Mohamed El-Beili, and Mostafa Badr of Egypt — alongside Nigeria’s Olajide Omotayo, Algeria’s Mehdi Bouloussa, Benin’s Abdel-Kader Salifou, and Tunisia’s Wassim Essid — all advanced comfortably to the third round.
It was a similar story in the Women’s Singles, where Nigeria’s Aishat Rabiu defeated Ghana’s Bernice Borquaye. Algeria’s Houda Taguercifi eliminated Angola’s Ruth Tavares, and 14-year-old Tunisian prodigy Ela Saidi stunned Rwanda’s Ruth Mihindu.
Meanwhile, 15-year-old Algerian twins Tania and Jade Morice made dream debuts with emphatic 4–0 wins over South Africa’s Danisha Patel and Congo Brazzaville’s Thomie Mossemba.
As the championship moves into its decisive phase on Tuesday, the battle for continental supremacy is set to intensify.
