Other Sports

S. African badminton players dominate African championships

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-05-28 08:43

South African badminton players have, once again, dominated the medals table at the 2007 All African Championships in Mauritius as they did last year in Algiers, Algeria.

They have come away with eight medals, including the team silver medal, the South African Press Association (SAPA) reported on Sunday.

In the individual finals, Michelle Edwards and Chantal Botts successfully won the women's doubles with a victory over Grace Daniel (Nigeria) and Karen Fu Kune (Mauritius) while Stacey Doubell and Kerry-Lee Harrington pocketed the bronze earlier.

In the women's singles, Harrington lost to Daniel to take the silver.

In the men's doubles, Chris and Roelof Dednam combined for gold with a victory over Steve Malcouzane and Georgie Cupidon of the Seychelles.

Chris Dednam and Michelle Edwards also made the final round in the mixed double, but were beaten as previously by Georgie Cupidon and Julliette Ahwan (Seychelles) to settle for the silver medal.

In the men's singles, Chris Dednam was again awarded a bronze, having lost 23-21 in the third set in the semi-finals in a marathon match against Eli Mambwe (Zambia). It was, therefore, once again in the men's singles where South Africa could not vest their supremacy in Africa.

The South African team, which last year won the competition, unexpectedly lost 3-2 in the final of the team event against the Seychelles.

The competition in the group A play-off matches was concluded with victories over Botswana 5-0, Madagascar 5-0 and the Seychelles 5-0 and a 3-1 win over Zambia in the semi-final to earn a place in the final.