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Cup bounces back with a bang

Part of the very colourful contingent of table tennis players who graced this year’s Elimitators Cup

Part of the very colourful contingent of table tennis players who graced this year’s Elimitators Cup

The Table Tennis Eliminators Cup exceeded expectations as the tournament, which was hosted after nearly a five year break, received a staggering 79 entries, showing that the sport still continues to grow.
Most games were fiercely contested as participants gave it their all to fight not only for a medal, but also for valuable points in their respective rankings.
 The matches were played in a senior singles, senior doubles, senior plates, U18 boys, U18 girls as well as U18 mixed doubles.
The U18 boys division saw the dream final between Darren Strauss and PW Steenkamp materialize.
The two youngsters have been the outstanding performers this year, earning them both their first steps on international stages. Strauss had also defended his title successfully at the Namibian Nationals a fortnight ago.
Both favorites lived up to the expectations as they marched through to the final with strong displays of Table Tennis.

Steenkamp showed great character during the final but it wasn’t enough to beat Strauss who eventually won in three straight sets.
Meanwhile No. 1 ranked Kaitlyn Beukes kept spectators on the edges of their seats as she overturned a 0 to 2 deficit in the U18 ladies final against Anja Steenkamp. It seemed that Steenkamp was well on her way to take home the title, but with a momentous come-back from 10-4 down in the 3rd set, Beukes shattered her dreams. Beukes went on to win 3:2.
Beukes and Strauss then underlined their class even further, when the two young prospects clinched the top spot in the U18 mixed doubles division. The two no. 1 seeded players triumphed over PW and Anja Steenkamp in the final.
There was more intense action over at the senior players. In the men’s single division, unseeded Yunke Cui from China took top honors after he beat Ramon Hansen in a hard fought final which went all five sets. Both finalists are from the Police Table Tennis Club.
Hansen did, however, get his name on the winners list when he and his partner Rudi Saunderson won the doubles division 3-2 with Cui and his team mate Wang Yuqing second followed by third placed SKW’s Heiko Fleidl and Johann Malan.

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