GOLDEN BOY: Zaeem Dadaker won Southern African U11 title
What started as a Covid-19 lockdown hobby has led to a Crawford boy striking gold at a recent international table tennis tournament.
Grade 4 learner at Bishops Preparatory School, Zaeem Dadaker, 10, returned to Cape Town on Saturday with a gold medal following his win at the International Table Tennis Federation – Southern Africa Hopes and Challenge 2023, hosted by the Namibia Table Tennis Association (NTTA).
The tournament took place from October 26 to November 1 for U11 boys and girls and included five days of coaching and two days of playoffs in Windhoek.
Teams from Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa competed in the tournament.
Zaeem’s table tennis journey began during the pandemic when schools were shut as a health precaution.
Dad Zuhoor Dadaker bought a table tennis board to keep Zaeem and his siblings Mohammed and Sameena occupied.
Soon, the kids asked for a coach, and Coach Gregory Naik then introduced them to club table tennis and taught them the basics of the sport.
At the age of 9, Zaeem made the Western Province Cape Town Table Tennis team.
He went on to play the South African National Tournament in October and was the only player to win four gold medals at the competition – for the singles, doubles, mixed doubles and team events.
He currently holds the SA National Champion title in the U11 division.
Zaeem says: “I would like to thank SATTB [The South African Table Tennis Board] for the opportunity and Team Namibia for hosting us. I learnt new skills and new drills which helped me through the final. I also made new friends from different countries.”
Proud dad Zuhoor adds: “We are very grateful to the Almighty for blessing Zaeem with his victory. We thank his coaches and family for all the support.
“The competition was very challenging, and there were moments where we thought he would not come through. But he persevered, and through skill and advice from the supporting coach, he was successful.”
Bonteheuwel-based Boundary Table Tennis coach, Graham van As, says two girls and two boys represented South Africa at the tournament, with three players from the Western Cape.
All three winners were from the Western Cape.
Van As says: “I feel great. Zaeem won the tournament, then Adam Domingo won bronze and Tamika van As won silver, so that is great for SA and Cape Town.”
shakirah.thebus@inl.co.za
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