Egypt Sweeps All Seven Golds at African Table Tennis Championships

Egypt won both team titles and all three doubles titles at the 2026 International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Africa Championships, which ran from 18 to 25 October, with its men’s team beating Algeria, 3-2, in a final decided by a 17-15 last game and its women’s team finishing the tournament unbeaten.

The tournament was held at the Olympic Arena in Tangier, where Egypt won the men’s and women’s team events as well as the men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles.

Egypt also won both singles titles, with Youssef Abdelaziz defeating fellow Egyptian Omar Assar 4-1 in the men’s final and Hana Goda beating Dina Meshref 4-1 in the women’s final.

The women’s team, made up of Dina Meshref, Hana Goda, Mariam Al-Hodabi, Farida Badawi and Hend Fathi, did not lose a single match. They beat Tunisia, 3-0, in the final, their 10th consecutive continental team title, a streak that began at the 2012 championships in Cairo.

“Every nation comes to this championship aiming to dethrone Egypt,” said Ashraf Abdel-Fattah, head of the Egyptian delegation. He said the sweep reflected the “depth, focus and world-class preparation” of the players.

The men’s final was far closer. Facing Algeria, Egypt fielded Youssef Abdelaziz, Omar Assar and Mohamed El-Beiali. Algeria’s Maheidine Bella beat Abdelaziz, 3-2, to hand Egypt its first loss of the tournament. Assar answered with a 3-0 win over Stéphane Ouaiche, and El-Beiali edged Sami Kherouf, 3-2, to put Egypt ahead.

Ouaiche then beat Abdelaziz, 3-1, in a match between left-handers, tying the final at 2-2 and setting up a deciding match between Assar, a veteran, and Bella, a rising player. Assar won the last game, 17-15, and with it the title, 3-2.

“Algeria threw everything they had at us, and Maheidine Bella played the match of his life,” Assar said afterward. He said that in a deciding game that close, “it comes down to composure and trust in your training.”

Egyptian players also took the doubles titles. El-Beiali and Abdel-Aziz won the men’s doubles, defeating Kherouf and Shahid Idowu of Congo, 3-0, while Mahmoud Helmi and Badr Mustafa took bronze. Abdel-Aziz and Al-Hodabi won mixed doubles in an all-Egyptian final against Mustafa and Badawi. Meshref and Goda won the women’s doubles, with Fathi and Badawi earning bronze.