African Badminton Championship in Algeria-Seychelles take team event bronze medal |07 December 2006

Together with his teammates, he will have to be contended with another bronze medal after Seychelles came so close to making the team event final, but lost 2-3 to host country Algeria in the semifinal.

After topping the six-team pool B with five victories in as many games – winning against Uganda (4-1), Zambia (4-1), Ghana (4-1), Morocco (4-1) and finally Mauritius (5-0) to decide the pool winners – Seychelles won just two matches out of five against pool A runners-up Algeria in the semifinal inside the OMS d’El Biar Gymnasium.

Seychelles’ female trump-card Juliette Ah-Wan won her singles match and the duo of Catherina Paulin and Shirley Etienne triumphed in the ladies’ doubles. The country’s team lost the men’s singles (Steve Malcouzane), mixed doubles (Cupidon and Ah-Wan) and men’s doubles (Malcouzane and Cupidon) to miss out on reaching the final.

This is the second team event bronze medal for Seychelles in the biennial competition after the first won in 2004 in Mauritius.

Speaking to Sports Nation on the phone, Seychelles Badminton Association (SBA) chairman Michel Bau said that “we came so close to reaching the final, but as usual when you’re playing against the host country, there are decisions that won’t go your way. Also some of the players cracked under pressure, failing to finish off their moves and sending the shuttlecock in the net in crunch time.”

Mauritius, who won four of their five group matches losing only to Seychelles, also won a bronze medal in the team event.

The seven-team pool A was dominated by South Africa who eliminated pool B runners-up Mauritius in the other semifinal.

In last night’s final against Algeria, the South African team were after their third gold medal in six years.

Other than South Africa and Algeria, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Cameroon and Botswana played in pool A.

Nigeria and Kenya failed to take part in the championship after encountering either flight connection or visa problems.

The individual competition starts today.

G. G.