Team SA’s table tennis representatives did themselves proud at the Region 5 Youth Games medals at The Showgrounds in Windhoek, Namibia. Both the boys and girls sides won gold against the hosts, before making certain of taking home the golds and silvers in the doubles.
The boys team, consisting of Ruan Scholtz (15), Cuten Lodewyk (18), Xhaiden Williams (18), and Amaru Joseph (18), cruised to a 3-0 win in the final, dropping only a single set throughout.
The dropped set came in the last match which was played by Williams. He explained afterwards what caused the loss of a perfect record. “I was two sets up and I started to think about that gold medal. I got nervous and I lost my rhythm, but my coach helped me compose myself and it helped me to close out the match.”
His coach, Willice Munyisa, explained the crucial moment. “Xhaiden cares a lot about the team, and he began to focus too much on us and how we were feeling. I told him to slow down and relax. He is a great player and he needed to forget about us for a bit and play his game.”
The girls side made up of Rochica Sonday (17), Karen Pillay (15), Confidence Moati (18), and Kritika Totaram (18), defeated Namibia 3-1. Sonday was the star of the show as she won the first match and the final match. “I am very happy with our performance and so proud of my team,” said Sonday after the game.
Photo: Frennie Shivambu