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ITTF Africa Senior Cup: A fulfilled dream for Clarence Dinayen in Yaounde


When Clarence Dinayen, 22, started his romance with table tennis, he just wanted to enjoy himself playing the game on the street of Bamenda in North Western part of Cameroon. But as he plays, his love for the sport continues to soar and this eventually earned him a place in the table tennis team of the University of Bamenda, where he studies Chemistry.

Twice he has featured for his institution at the National University Games in Cameroon but his efforts did not attract the attention of the national technical team.

But in 2015, he won the heart of the Cameroon Table Tennis Federation when he edged out national champion, Emmanuel Ngwe in the round of the 16 of the men’s singles but his good run was halted in the quarterfinal.

However, the Cameroon Table Tennis Federation saw the need to encourage Clarence Dinayen and they invited him for the national trials in readiness for the 2015 ITTF Africa Senior Cup.

He was in the midst of the best players in Cameroon and fortunately for him he made the final cut for the four-man team that will represent Cameroon at the ITTF Africa Senior Cup in Yaounde.

From the way he has been conducting himself at the tournament, it was clear that Dinayen was in class of his own especially playing against some of his role models in the game.

It was a dream comes true for the undergraduate as he was pitched against 2014 ITTF Star Player, Aruna Quadri of Nigeria, whom he admired a lot in Africa.

“I cannot describe the feeling I have been having since this competition started because this is my first time of playing international competition and also putting on the colours of Cameroon in such event was indeed a dream come true. For me playing in this tournament is indeed a big privilege and I cannot express how happy I have been since Tuesday July 21 when the championship started. I was the last player to make the team during the trials especially for a player that comes from the North Western part of Cameroon (Anglophone),” he admitted.

As if the selection was not the icing on the cake for Dinayen, he had to play against one of the continent’s best, Aruna Quadri of Nigeria in the men’s singles group matches. “I could not imagine that I was playing against Aruna because I have all his matches in my laptop especially his matches against Zhan Jike of China, Kenta Matsudaira of Japan and some of his wonderful matches. It was a big privilege seeing and playing against a player I admired so much. I cannot just know what was going on within me when we were playing because I just cherished the moment. I was not really concentrating on the game but was just admiring Aruna because he has a lot for the game in Africa. He is a superstar which most of us cherish and look up to in Africa,” Dinayen said.

But Dinayen did not only come to cherish Aruna, he put up a good fight against Morocco’s Said Reda to win 3-2 as the only victory to his credit in Yaounde.

And when he matched up against his idol conqueror, Egypt’s Mohammed El-Beiali, Dinayen wanted to prove a point as he fought hard against the Egyptian. “I think the match against El-Beiali of Egypt remained my best game in this tournament. Although I lost but I did all I could in the encounter. I wanted to show that I am capable of playing against a player who has beaten Aruna earlier. He is a good player but I know that if I continue to work hard, I can match up with him,” Dinayen said.

As long as Dinayen admired Egypt’s Omar Assar, the respect he had for Aruna is unequalled. “The player I love at present is Omar Assar because he works hard and he plays well in this competition. But for me, he is not in the class of Aruna who to me is a super star because Assar has not been able to measure up with the global status of Aruna. Even if Aruna did not win the ITTF Africa Senior Cup, he remains the best for me and I don’t think there is anything for him to prove in Africa. He is a player for a big stage and he has shown this in his previous performance and I just think we can emulate him in Africa. Assar is also a good player but he has not been able to do what Aruna has done and this is what distinguishes Aruna from other players in Africa,” he said.

Like an optimist, Dinayen looks forward to making the Cameroon team for the 2015 All Africa Games in Congo Brazzaville. “I know we will also play in the national trials to select the team for the All Africa Games and I hope to continue to work hard so that I can make the final list of players that will represent my country in Brazzaville,” he added.

NB : Photo et texte: ITTF