Hilma Nalupe 

The African Union Sports Council Region 5 Youth Games which concluded yesterday brought thrilling table tennis action to the Windhoek Showgrounds from 6 to 11 July, with Namibia proudly finishing second behind South Africa. 

Namibia delivered a strong performance on home ground, earning four medals in total, a remarkable achievement considering the level of competition at this year’s tournament. South Africa dominated the table tennis medal standings with 16 medals, while Zimbabwe rounded off the top three with three medals. 

Namibia’s table tennis head coach, Simon Gologolo, reflected on the team’s journey, expressing pride and optimism. “The overall competition was quite strong, but I believe we overestimated some countries,” he said. “We have learnt from this experience and from here on, we will work on the mental and emotional part of the game to limit our errors.” 

De spi te the tough competition, Namibia exceeded expectations, with three players reaching the quarterfinals and another three making it into the top 16. The team’s performance served as a confidence booster, showing that Namibian players are capable of competing at a high level. 

“The games were awesome. The countries were friendly. The players played their hearts out, and the Namibian team performed well beyond expectations. All the hard work they put in worked in their favour,”Gologolo added. 

He expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sport and Culture and the Namibia Table Tennis Association president Rudi Saunderson and his team for their support throughout the games. “I’m very proud of my team,” he said. 

-hilmanalupe@gmail.com