Nigerians have a date as ITTF Africa Championship Cup opens Nairobi

Posted : 07 May 2023

As the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Africa Cup kicks off in Nairobi, Kenya, top gladiators are set to clash as expected.

The ITTF competition features top African players, and this year’s event is held at the International Sports Centre, Nairobi.

At least 29 male players and 23 female players are said to have registered for this year’s event, scheduled to begin on May 5. Nigeria's ace ping ponger, Aruna Quadri, would be leading the challenge in the men’s category for Nigeria, while his biggest challenger is Omar Assar of Egypt.

Aruna hit an all-time high by breaking into the top 10 ranking in March, as released by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) in its latest rankings. Aruna, who emerged on the new world ranking as number 10, will strive to justify his status as the highest-ranked player in Africa.

One of his landmark achievements was reaching the quarterfinals of the WTT Contender event at WTT Doha, where he eventually lost 3-1 to Lin-Yun-Ju.

The 34-year-old Aruna will also hope to defend his 2022 ITTF crown after he defeated Omar Assar to clinch his second title.

Both players have clashed in the finals in the last six editions, and without gainsaying, the table tennis world would give anything for another titillating duel involving the two in Nairobi.

Considered the gathering of the best in African table tennis, Algeria’s Mehdi Bouloussa, who recently changed nationality from France to the North African country, would aim for his first continental title. Bouloussa had made his presence felt at the 2022 African Championship, which was held on home soil.

Also, Senegal’s Ibrahima Diaw should hope to use the tournament to re-launch himself on the continent after a long-time layoff due to injury.

In the women's category, the rave of the moment and Africa’s best-ranked female player, Dina Meshref of Egypt, will be out to reclaim the title she lost to teenage sensation and fellow Egyptian, Hana Goda, in 2022 while Nigeria’s Fatima Bello will be challenging for honors after she lost out in 2022.

2010 champion Sarah Hanffou of Cameroon is also among the title contenders; Maram Zoghlami of Tunisia is another challenger who can cause an upset on a good day.

Similarly, Kenyan Brian Mutua is a veritable competitor and will hope to join the league of the elites on the wings of a strident home support in Nairobi.

Nigerians have a date as ITTF Africa Championship Cup opens Nairobi

ADD A COMMENT :

Hot Topics