Egyptian Stars Dominate as Assar Claims Seventh Africa Cup Title

Egyptian Stars Dominate as Assar Claims Seventh Africa Cup Title

By Admin 

Omar Assar reaffirmed his status as Africa’s most successful men’s table tennis player on Monday, capturing a record seventh men’s singles title at the ITTF Africa Cup in Benghazi, Libya. The tournament also saw Egyptian teenager Hana Goda continue her rapid ascent, while Algeria’s Tania Morice announced herself on the continental stage.

Assar delivered a dominant performance throughout the competition, completing the tournament without dropping a single set across six matches. The Egyptian star swept aside most of his opponents by 3–0 or 4–0 margins and sealed the title with a commanding 4–0 victory (12–10, 11–8, 11–7, 11–7) over Algeria’s Mehdi Bouloussa in the final. The triumph marked a successful defence of the title Assar reclaimed in 2025 and further entrenched his record as the only male player to win the Africa Cup seven times.

Despite falling short in the final, Bouloussa enjoyed a landmark campaign, becoming the first Algerian to reach the Africa Cup men’s singles final. The 22-year-old produced one of the tournament’s most memorable matches in the semifinals, edging Nigeria’s five-time champion Quadri Aruna 4–3. Bouloussa is now set to make his ITTF World Cup debut in Macao next month.

In the women’s singles, Goda — still the youngest Africa Cup champion in history at just 14 — was equally impressive. The Egyptian teenager retained her title with a straight-sets victory over compatriot and nine-time champion Dina Meshref, winning 4–0 (12–10, 11–3, 11–7, 11–9) in the final to extend her unbeaten run on the continent and secure her fourth Africa Cup crown.

Algeria’s teenage prospect Tania Morice also emerged as one of the tournament’s standout performers. Building on her cadet title at last year’s Africa Youth Championships in Lagos, Morice finished among the top four in Benghazi to claim her first qualification for the ITTF World Cup. Along the way, she recorded victories over Nigeria’s Fatimo Bello, Madagascar’s Hanitra Raharimanana and Tunisia’s Abir Haj Salah.

Reflecting on her breakthrough performance, Morice described the achievement as “incredible,” crediting the support of her coaches, teammates and parents for her rapid progress.