TABLE Tennis ace, Choolwe Hamalambo was on top of things yet again when he scooped the Cardinal Distributors Limited-sponsored national junior invitational table tennis championships at the Olympic Youth Development Centre (OYDC) in Lusaka on Saturday.
The 16-year-old Hamalambo, who could almost hit the ball with his eyes closed because of his table tennis skills, emerged winner in both the Under-16 single and doubles events.
The championship, whose participants were selected based on their performance in various Zambia Table Tennis Association (ZTTA) tournaments since January 2013, attracted 76 players of ages between 10 and 16 and included 52 boys and 24 girls.
Hamalambo beat Daniel Phiri 4-2 with set scores 11-8, 8-11, 9-11, 11-4, 11-5, 11-2 in the finals, while in the doubles final where he was paired with Daniel Njovu, the set won 2-0 with scores 11-8, 11-3 against their opponents, Robert Banda and Daniel Phiri.
In the Under-10 girls’ category, Harriet Tembo from Ng’ombe PTA beat Janet Mwelwa of OlympAfrica 2-0 with set scores 11-7, 11-5.
Wisdom Nyirenda from OlympAfrica defeated Kebson Phiri from Spinners Academy 2-0 in the Under-10 boys’ category with set scores 11-9, 11-5.
The Under-12 girls’ category saw Martha Banda of Ng’ombe PTA beat Monica Mutale of OlympAfrica 2-0 with set scores 11-4, 11-5, while in the Under-12 boys’ category Abraham Tembo of OlympAfrica won 2-1 with scores 11-7, 6-11, 11-9.
In the Under-14 girls’ category, Latifa Nalavwe of Ping Pong Stars beat Mubanga Kunda of OlympAfrica by 2-1 with scores 8-11, 11-8, 13-11, while the boys’ category saw Mwiza Siame of Ng’ombe PTA beat Anderson Sakala of Ping Pong Stars 3-0 by a scoreline of 11-6, 11-6, 11-8.
ZTTA patron Haroon Ghumra said he was impressed with the performance of the players who he said were doing a lot to improve the standard of the sport.
He said the improvements meant much for the future of table tennis in Zambia.
The tournament sponsors, Cardinal Distributors Limited commended ZTTA for successfully organising the tournament.
Company director Shafik Patel pledged the firm’s support towards the promotion of table tennis in Zambia.