Table tennis ace outclasses competition
We are the champions; On the left Rudi Saunderson shares the spotlight with National champion Ramon Hansen at last weeks Table Tennis Nationals
Hansen not only clinched the top spot in the single’s division, but also went on to win the double category with his partner Rudi Saunderson. In total, 17 of Namibia’s best players took part with no significant absentees recorded. Due to the nature of the tournament, no NTTA ranking points were awarded to the participants. Hansen played in a class of his own throughout the tournament, starting off with a win against Kean Tait to move to the quarter-final where he met Fabian Tait.
After struggling in the first game (11:9), Hansen quickly regained the momentum to convincingly beat his opponent in the next three (11:4, 11:7 and 11:6) games to book himself a place in the semifinals. In the final Hansen faced Rudi Saunderson. Saunderson had booked his place in the final match after a trying effort against Wayne Green, the game being decided in a six-game thriller. Hansen was, however, unfazed of Saunderson’s impressive win as he set the pace from the very beginning, leaving his counterpart with little chance. The game ended with 11:7, 11:9, 12:10 and 11:5 in favour of Hansen. One title alone did not quench Hansen’s winning thirst though. Together with his singles Final opponent Saunderson, the man of the day also won the double section, beating Fabian Tait and Reinhardt Stanley in the final (11:5, 11:5, 11:9, 11:4 and 11:6). In so doing, Hansen/Saunderson received the Namibian Championship Men’s Doubles trophy. In other action, Theo Beukes won the single’s plate division after a hard-fought game against Roger Beukes, both players coming from the Eliminators Table Tennis Club.
The next event the Swakop Open scheduled to take place on 23 August in Swakopmund.
