FOR 31 years Zimbabwe waited. Last week the wait ended.
At Glen City Resort, under a dry winter sky, the sound of table tennis came back to Harare.
Silver balls flashed across blue tables, rackets cracked, coaches shouted, and for the first time since 1995, Zimbabwe hosted a major continental championship.
Teams from South Africa, Angola, Namibia, Zambia, Botswana and the hosts arrived with bags, rackets and hopes.
They left with medals, memories, and in many cases, a small bronze coin with a monkey on it.
South Africa were the team everyone expected to win, and they did, taking four gold medals with only Angola stopping the sweep, winning bronze in women's singles.
"We respect them a lot," Zimbabwe Table Tennis Union head coach Wang Liping said after the finals.
"They train hard, they have a system. To beat them we must learn from them and work every day."
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But if South Africa won the medals, Zimbabwe won something else.
The hosts did not take gold, but they gave the crowd reasons to stand and clap in almost every session.
That fight came from the bench. Coach Wang, with assistants Chen Xi and Zhao Xiaoyang, spent the week watching every point and talking to players between games.
Tapiwa Musarurwa lost his first game in the men's team match and looked nervous. At the break, Wang called him over.
"I told him, this is your home. Breathe. Don't play the name, play the ball," Wang told The Sports Hub.
Musarurwa changed his serve and won three games straight.
Brian Chamboko was in an even tighter spot, down 1-5 in the fifth against Angola's best player. Wang took a timeout and drew tactics on a towel.
"Go to the middle, then wide. One point at a time," he said. Chamboko came back to win.
Ashleigh Dlamini walked off after losing the first two games 3-11, 5-11, shaking. Wang held her hands.
"Forget winning and losing. Play like in training. The crowd is with you. The people who traveled far are the ones who should be nervous," he told her.
She won three games in a row, then burst into tears.
"I was more proud of that than any medal," Wang said.
"Because she beat fear."
The match everyone talked about was Vikram Singh against South Africa's number one, Luke Abrahams.
Before it started, Wang set a small target:
"We knew the gap was big. So we said, get six points a game. If we take one game, that is a victory for today."
Singh did it, winning the second game 11-9. He lost 1-3, but the whole hall stood up.
"I think it was a really nice event overall. The organisation was good, the venue was good, the food was good and the people were awesome," Abrahams said.
"Thanks to the Zimbabwe Table Tennis Union for putting this together."
Off the court, every player, referee, official and volunteer received a bronze coin bearing the tournament mascot, a small Zimbabwean monkey, cast by hand by two Chinese craftsmen living in Zimbabwe.
"We wanted everyone to take a piece of Zimbabwe home," Wang said.
"In five years when you hold this coin, you will remember the friends you made here."
Abrahams called it the most special souvenir he had received in 20 years of competition.
Mandarin was also heard often around Glen City, with several Namibian and Angolan players having trained for a month in Baoding, China. Wang, who has spent years helping table tennis grow across the continent, also donated balls and tables to Angola and Botswana. "Table tennis is one family," he said. "If my neighbor has no ball to train, then tomorrow my match will not be good."
Speaking through a speech read on his behalf at the closing ceremony, Mashonaland East Provincial Affairs minister, Itayi Ndudzo, said tournaments of this scale create opportunities beyond competition.
"Events such as these also stimulate tourism, create business opportunities and strengthen regional cooperation," he said.
South Africa leave as champions. Zimbabwe leave with experience, new fans, and a plan. "We are not there yet," Wang said.
"For 31 years we waited. Now we start again. If we keep training, if we keep the children playing in schools and communities, Zimbabwe table tennis will rise."
