Curtain comes down on All Africa Championships
Calistus Kolantsho | Tuesday February 17, 2026 08:17
The championships, which saw a record 19 countries taking part, came to an end on a rainy Sunday afternoon at the Royal Aria arena in Tlokweng. The women’s doubles champions are Johanita Scholtz and Amy Ackerman of South Africa, the men’s doubles champions are Kocelia Mammeri and Sabri Medel of Algeria. Fadilah Shamika of Uganda is the women’s champion, while Adham Elgamal of Egypt was crowned the men’s champion. BBA public relations officer, Thobo Tshosa, told Sport Monitor yesterday that the event recorded 139 team event players, 197 individual event players, 39 team matches, 219 individual matches, and 38 officials (21 locally certified).
He explained that beyond medals, the championships boosted sports tourism, developed match officials, strengthened partnerships with sponsors and media, and cemented the association’s role as a capable host of large-scale continental sport.
Tshosa added that following the success of the All Africa Senior Championships 2026, the association will move into a structured retrospect, review and evaluation phase.
He said they want to assess what worked well, where they can improve, and how they can leverage the momentum sustainably.
Meanwhile, Zambian men’s team pulled a shocker by qualifying for the doubles final after eliminating powerhouse, Egypt, The two brothers, Chongo and Kalombo Mulenga walked into the semi-final as underdogs against Egypt.
Speaking to Sport Monitor ahead of the final, Mulenga said it was a big achievement because it was their first doubles finals and that was a result of being pushed by their coach.
“Preparations were tough, not consistent, not having much training especially abroad,” he said.
“We put in the work back home, that has benefited us, although we played players who train in high level facilities we managed to qualify for the final.”
For his part, Chongo said playing against Egypt was not easy. He said together his brother, they stayed composed in the court, focused on one point at a time and did not get distracted easily.
The Mulenga brothers have played in Botswana many times, last year they played in Botswana International Open, where they lost in the semi-final.
Furthermore, team Botswana men’s team were beaten by Nigeria but narrowly lost to Ghana, bringing their journey in the team competition to an end before the quarterfinals.
The men's team comprised of Tsamorena Kgosidialwa, GodKnows Ketlhabanetswe and Tshepo Perekisi along with Tumelo Moilwa for the doubles events.
The women's team won against Lesotho and lost to Mauritius and Nigeria.
Women's team was made up of Tessa Kabelo, Tebogo Ndzinge, Keletso Ntebela and Tsholofelo Willie.