Table tennis talents
RAISETHORPE Secondary School pupils, siblings Keshmika and Kivesh Sivnarain, were both placed second in their respective divisions at the recent South African Open Junior and Senior Table Tennis Championships that ended in Pietermaritzburg on Sunday.
At the age of 15, this was Keshmika’s first year in the U18 division, where she narrowly lost to National teammate Leekesha Johnson from Western Province in the finals. Keshmika said that this was a great achievement for her, considering her time spent on balancing her academics and table tennis, whereas her opponent in the finals attends a sport school.
She was also placed second in her team events and third in her doubles event with her teammate, Nukubonga Mabaso from Uthekela district.
Keshmika also did well in the senior ladies division, making it all the way to the quarter-finals.
Keshmika’s consistent performance and her number one ranking makes her a regular in the South African team. At 12 she represented SA in Sweden at the World Hopes tournament.
In addition, she attended the All Africa Games in Mauritius last year, and in Algeria earlier this year.
The Department of Sport and Recreation KZN has now placed her in the Elite Athlete Development Performance Programme, a first for a table tennis player.
Her younger sibling, Kivesh, claimed the number 2 position nationally for under 15 boys. Kivesh had an extremely difficult group, but fought his way to the final, ultimately succumbing to Yukail Naidoo, also from Umgungundlovu.
Kivesh said that despite losing in the final set, “it was a great result for me”.