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ITTF boss hails Sebatindira as world best
World champion Joseph Sebatindira. PHOTO/COURTESY OF WTT
What you need to know:
Sorling had met Sebatindira and his coach during a high-level training camp in Halmstad, Sweden a week after Sebatindira won the WTT Boys Singles Under 11 title in Wladyslawowo, Poland.
International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) president Petra Sorling has recognized Ugandan prodigy Joseph Sebatindira as the world’s best 10-year-old table tennis player.
“He comes from Uganda and is the world’s best ten-year-old in pingis. Right now, he is in camp in Halmstad with the world’s greatest talents,” Sorling posted on her social media platforms last week.
Sorling had met Sebatindira and his coach during a high-level training camp in Halmstad, Sweden a week after Sebatindira won the WTT Boys Singles Under 11 title in Wladyslawowo, Poland.
This was Sebatindira’s fourth world title in seven months since his first in Cairo, Egypt in October. In January, the nine-year-old added the WTT U11 and U13 titles in Doha, Qatar.
Last week, Sebatindira came within two victories of winning another world title, when he stopped at the semifinals of the Boys Singles Under 13 WTT Youth Contender Helsingborg 2024.
In his first Group Two match inside the Helsingborg Arena, Sebatindira defeated Korea’s Jaeyeon Yoon 3-0 (11-8, 11-8, 11-9). He lost the next game 2-3 (10-12, 11-7, 9-11, 12-10, 10-12) to Joel Isaksson of Sweden, his first group game loss at world level. Sebatindira bounced back with a 3-1 (11-8, 9-11, 11-6, 11-2) win over Yashvasin Bolishetty of India to advance to the quarterfinals.
Next, he defeated Spyros Sarigiannidis of Luxembourg 3-2 (10-12, 11-4, 11-8, 9-11, 11-8) in a hard-fought duel. He lost the first set 10-12, won the next two sets 11-4, 11-8, lost the fourth set 9-11, then won the decisive fifth set 11-8.
Sebatindira lost the semifinal match 0-3 (4-11, 9-11, 12-10) to Chinese Taipei’s Yun-Cheng Lo, ending his pursuit of the U13 title. But this may not feel like defeat for the nine-year-old who stopped at the quarterfinals of the Wladyslawowo tournament of the U13 category. Also, his loss came against the best, moreover against opponents three years older.
There was no U11 category at Helsingborg but considering his form, it is a safe bet that if Sebatindira’s most befitting contest, he would have won it like he did the one in Poland, Qatar and Egypt.
On Monday, he launched his campaign at the WTT Youth Contender Sandefjord, Norway, which will be his last tournament in this three-country tour.
Sebatindira results in Sweden
Group 2
Beat Jaeyeon Yoon (Korea) 3-0
Lost to Joel Isaksson (Sweden) 3-1
Beat Yashvasin Bolishetty (India) 3-1
Quarterfinal
Beat Spyros Sarigiannidis (Luxembourg) 3-2
Semifinal
Lost to Yun-Cheng Lo (Taipei) 0-3
