AUC’s Table Tennis Team Returns with a Double Gold under their Belts

For the fifth consecutive year, AUC’s women’s table tennis team brought back two gold medals after competing in the Table Tennis Championship.

The regional competition was held in Ismailia on March 25, including 32 participating univerisities.

The final game was played against Ain Shams University, who proved themselves to be formidable opponents.

The match ended at a score of 2-0 for AUC.

The AUC team consists of Donya Madkour, business sophomore, Yousra Helmy, accounting sophomore and Reem Morad, business sophomore, and is coached by Sherif Abdelaal.

Abdelaal, who previously coached the national women’s table tennis team, expressed his joy over the girls’ commitment and professionalism.

“The girls did not receive enough training because of the hectic midterm period they had, but thankfully they were able to come out on top in spite of the obstacles they faced,” he told The Caravan.

“The tournament was intense with really tough competitors so I’m really proud of the girls and their desire to go forward,” he added.

All three athletes started playing the sport at a young age, and have amassed a great deal of experience from participating in tournaments over the years.

“At the age of 15, I joined the national team and since then I participated in African and international tournaments reaching the 2016 Rio Olympics,” stated Helmy.

Helmy’s family motivated her to switch from gymnastics to table tennis and benefited from her family’s expertise in the sport.

“I wasn’t really pressured into it but my parents were both table tennis champions and Olympians; so this influenced me a lot to be involved in this sport since the age of ten,” Helmy added.

“I realized that I made the right choice after I started winning tournaments.”

The trio began practicing together at the Al Ahly Club with a combined experience of at least 35 years under their belts.

“I started playing table tennis when I was nine years old at Al Ahly Club and then, at the age of ten I started competing in regional and international championships,” Madkour told The Caravan.

Morad’s career also included a stint as a player on the national team, she found this tournament to be a good chance to reminisce.

“It was good to be involved again with the sport and the whole tournament experience,” she said.