National table tennis champion reclaims her title

Danisha Patel

Patel won the women's individual competition after beating a rival from the University of Cape Town in the finals of the University Sport South Africa tournament. She was also part of the women's and mixed doubles teams that beat the University of Limpopo and Wits University respectively in the finals.

"UJ missed out on the men's title because we didn't have enough men taking part.

"Hopefully we can get more people involved and develop the sport next year and dominate in all categories of the competition," said Patel, who is also the two-time senior SA champion.

Busy times ahead

Her busiest time may still lie ahead as the 22-year-old biokinetics student will take part in two more massive tournaments in less than a week's time.

By regaining her USSA singles title Patel reaffirmed her spot as one of the best in the country. She won the competition in 2012 and 2013, but missed out on the title in 2014.

Prior to the student champs, Patel participated in tournaments in Egypt and Cape Town, as well as the African Games in Congo in September.

This weekend, Patel will be winging her way to Namibia where she will take part in the Zone Six Table Tennis Championship, competing against other Southern African countries.

She returns on 12 December, only to leave for the Commonwealth Championships in India two days later.

Training, development and future goals

While Patel is finishing up her studies at the end of this year, she said she would still be involved in training and developing up-and-coming UJ players.

More importantly, she will be looking to defend her national senior title, making her a three-time winner, "If I can defend it again in 2016 it will be three in a row, and I am very excited about that possibility."