Egypt reaffirmed its dominance of African table tennis by defending both the men’s and women’s team titles at the ITTF Africa Championships Tangier 2026 in Morocco, with the women delivering a flawless campaign and the men surviving a five-match battle against Algeria.
The championships, held at the Olympic Arena in Tangier, saw the Egyptian women defeat Tunisia 3-0 in the final, while the men edged Algeria 3-2 in a dramatic contest that went down to the deciding game.
The women’s team, comprising Dina Meshref, Hana Goda, Mariam Alhodaby, Farida Badawy and Hend Fathy, dominated the competition from start to finish, winning every match 3-0 on their way to the title.
Their latest triumph extended Egypt’s unbeaten run in the women’s team event, dating back to the 2012 championships in Cairo, and secured the country’s 10th consecutive title in the category.
Unlike the women’s straightforward route to gold, the men faced a determined Algerian side in a final that tested their resilience and experience.
Egypt fielded Youssef Abdelaziz, Omar Assar and Mohamed El-Beiali, while Algeria relied on Stéphane Ouaiche, Maheidine Bella and Sami Kherouf in the contest for continental supremacy.
Algeria took the early initiative when Bella defeated Abdelaziz 3-2, handing Egypt its first match defeat of the tournament. Assar responded emphatically, beating Ouaiche 3-0 to restore parity.
El-Beiali then edged Kherouf 3-2 in a closely contested encounter to put Egypt ahead 2-1, but Ouaiche kept Algeria in contention with a 3-1 victory over Abdelaziz, forcing the final into a decisive fifth match.
With the tie level at 2-2, Assar faced Bella in a showdown that would determine the destination of the title.
Bella pushed the experienced Egyptian to the limit in an intense encounter, but Assar held his nerve when it mattered most, edging the deciding game 17-15 to complete a 3-2 victory for Egypt.
The hard-fought win secured Egypt’s successful defence of the men’s title and completed a double triumph in Tangier.
The twin victories further underlined Egypt’s status as a dominant force in African table tennis, with the women maintaining their historic winning streak and the men demonstrating the composure needed to prevail in a high-pressure final.
