Anuoluwapo Juwon Opeyori of Nigeria and Fadilah Shamika Mohamed Rafi of Uganda emerged singles champions at the All Africa Individual Championships 2023 that concluded in Johannesburg on Sunday.
Hosts South Africa won two doubles titles, while Algeria claimed the mixed doubles.
Opeyori defended his men’s singles crown beating former two-time champion Georges Julien Paul of Mauritius in a three-game thriller, 18-21 21-13 21-18.
Fadilah Shamika Mohamed Rafi of Uganda.
Rafi became the first Ugandan champion in women’s singles with a hard-fought 14-21 21-14 21-16 result over 2021 champion Johanita Scholtz of South Africa. The seventh-seeded Ugandan showed great tenacity through the week, as she won four of her five matches in three games. She was pushed hard in the second round by defending champion Nour Youssri in the quarterfinals, winning 21-18 in the third, and by Yasmina Chibah (Algeria) in the semifinals.
Double for South Africa
South Africa’s Jarred Elliott and Robert Summers triumphed in men’s doubles with a 21-13 21-17 result over Algeria’s Mohamed Aberrahime Belarbi/Adel Hamek. The unseeded South Africans had earlier pulled off an upset in the semifinals, ending Koceila Mammeri/Youcef Sabri Medel’s title-winning streak at four.
South Africa also claimed the women’s doubles, with Amy Ackerman/Deidre Laurens holding off Algeria’s Yasmina Chibah/Linda Mazri 21-19 21-12.
The second seeds didn’t drop a game during their title-winning campaign.
Koceila Mammeri’s 10th
Koceila Mammeri and Tanina Mammeri
Algeria’s Koceila Mammeri picked up his 10th title overall and his third in a row in mixed doubles with Tanina Violette Mammeri.
The second seeds prevailed over top seeds Adham Hatem Elgamal/Doha Hany 21-15 21-13.
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