WINDHOEK – The Namibian Table Tennis Association (NTTA) has officially released its year-end rankings of various playing categories with points of no less than six tournaments flowing into the standings.
In the senior category, Swakopmund and Windhoek open championships, Heiko Fleidl took first place from last year’s No 1 Ramon Hansen after the season’s opening tournament in February.
Fleidl, a member of the SKW Table Tennis Club, acquired 1,084 points, 213 more than second-placed Charles Cui Yunke. The Chinese native had a fantastic year, clinching the Namibian Open title along the way.
Johann Malan moved to third place, pushing Wayne Green, who eventually had to settle for fourth place, from a top-3 spot. Danré Dennis (Eliminators Club) was the most improved player, ending the season in 20th place. He started the year as un-seeded.
Fleidl topped of a great season by further claiming the top spot in the doubles category with his partner Reinolt Schurz. The pair ended the year with 591 points, while Ramon Hansen and his partner had to settle for second place. Colin Wang Yuqing and Charles Cui Yunke came in third.
The top Lady Player of the 2014 season was Christa Mrozek, who earlier this year won two Gold medals at the South African Veteran Open Championships in the u/50 and u/60 categories respectively.
The runner up was Bregida George who recently won the Singles B-League. The NTTA invited all ladies interested in playing Table Tennis to join the 2015 Season.
Meanwhile Darren Strauss (Westside High School, Swakopmund) was the top performing U18 junior once again.
His playing ability earned him a place in the senior national team, which travelled to the world championships in Tokyo, Japan this year. Strauss was also a member of the Namibian national side that participated at the Zone 6 games early in the year.
The talented youngster ended the season with an incredible 1,152 points to his name. His closest rival, Dietrich Möwes (DHPS), accumulated 985 points. Another outstanding player was PW Steenkamp.
Hailing from the village of Stampriet, Steenkamp sprung a couple of surprises, most notably, when he won the Windhoek Open against all odds last month. Steenkamp was also selected to represent Namibia at the African Youth Games in Botswana in May.
The most improved player in the u/18 boys was Raimo Dengeinge of the DHPS School. He ended the year as 7th overall after having started as unseeded.
The by far closest race for the overall win was between Namibia’s top U18 girls Kaitlyn Beukes and Reese Saunderson. The two archrivals met in almost every final, keeping spectators on the edges of their seats with their intense battles.
Beukes ended the year with 1,070 points, while Saunderson came a close second with 1,057 points. The third place went to Anja Steenkamp. Jesse Joseph was the most improve u/18 girl, ending this year in 5th place.
Year-end rankings (Top-10)
Senior Men:
Position Name Points
1. Heiko Fleidl 1,084
2. Cui Yunke 871
3. Johann Malan 653
4. Wayne Green 652
5. Theo Beukes 559
6. Ashley Julius 544
7. Fabian Tait 517
8. Reinhardt Stanley 509
9. Ramon Hansen 497
10. Reinholt Schurz 437
Senior doubles
1. Heiko Fleidl/Reinholt Schurz
591
2. Ramon Hansen/Partner
499
3. Colin Wang Yuqing/Charles
Cui Yunke 436
4. Theo Beukes/Wayne Green
406
5. Johann Malan/Reinhardt Stanley
317
6. Ashley Julius/Roger Beukes
235
7. Johann Malan/Theo Beukes
184
8. Ramon Hansen/Wayne Green
176
9. Heiko Fleidl/Johann Malan
157
10. Leroy Beukes/Danre Dennis
137
U18 boys
1. Darren Strauss 1,152
2. Dietrich Möwes 985
3. PW Steenkamp 847
4. Ronaldo Vogel 697
5. Conwin van Wyk 682
6. Ethan Januarie 664
7. Raimo Dengeinge 537
8. Romario Olivier 474
9. Polla Thornburn 434
10. Danco Burger 399
U18 girls
1. Kaitlyn Beukes 1,070
2. Reese Saunderson 1057
3. Anja Steenkamp 588
4. Ciara Thornburn 506
5. Jesse Joseph 484
6. Jana Hein 255
7. Nicole van Wyk 250
8. Clarise Feris 226
9. Faghma Coleman 189
10. Beulah van Wyk 174
By Staff Reporter