Table Tennis
ARUNA QUADRI HOPES FOR HOME SUCCESS AT ITTF AFRICA CUP
BY DANIEL ETCHELLS
Home favourite Quadri Aruna is seeded first in the men’s singles draw as he aims to regain the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Africa Cup title in Nigerian city Lagos, where action is due to begin this Saturday.
The winner of both the men’s and women’s singles events will secure a place at the respective ITTF World Cups, scheduled to take place in Chengdu in China later this year.
Aruna is aiming for his sixth ITTF World Cup appearance but is likely to face a strong challenge from second seed Ahmed Saleh and third seed Omar Assar, both of whom are from Egypt.
Saleh has a total of five ITTF World Cup appearances to his name, with the first being in 1998 in Shantou in China and the most recent in 2011 in Paris.
Approaching his 40th birthday, he is one of the most experienced players on duty in Lagos.
Assar, meanwhile, is going in search of his third ITTF Africa Cup title and his third ITTF World Cup appearance.
He and Aruna have played each other in the five most recent editions of the continental tournament.
All the meetings have come in finals, with the exception of 2015 in Cameroon’s capital Yaoundé where Assar prevailed in the semi-finals before going onto claim the title.
He repeated the success last year, winning in Kenya’s capital Nairobi, while Aruna triumphed in 2014 in Lagos, in 2016 in Sudan’s capital Khartoum and in 2017 in Moroccan city Agadir.
Fourth-seeded Nigerian Segun Toriola, who will celebrate his 45th birthday next month, is also expected to be in contention for glory.
The winner of the ITTF Africa Cup title in 2008 in Conga’s capital Brazzaville, Toriola has made four ITTF World Cup appearances with his first in 1996 in French city Nîmes and the latest in 2008 in Belgian city Liège.
“I don’t think I will be under any pressure playing in Lagos particularly with the support from the fans,” Aruna said.
“I am ready to compete against anybody because I will always want to make my country proud.
“There is no doubt that it is going to be tough because everybody is playing well now.”
In the women’s singles event, Egypt’s Dina Meshref will be looking to defend her title.
The American University in Cairo graduate is the only African female player to be ranked in the world’s top 60, currently occupying 49th spot.
“I will just try to give my best as I am trying to prepare well for the competition,” Meshref, who has competed in the last four ITTF World Cups, said.
“Of course it won’t be easy in Lagos.
“I expect all players to be very well prepared for such an event, especially as it’s a few days prior to another important event (the 2019 African Games in Morocco’s capital Rabat).
“I consider all players competing in the event as my potential rivals and strong competition.”
The two venues listed as being used for the event are the Sir Molade Okoya Thomas Indoor Sports Hall and the Teslim Balogun Stadium.
-insidethegames
Otan Ayegbaju, a historic town in Southwestern Nigeria, will host 50 teams from states and clubs across the country for the 5th edition of the Michael and Felicia Alabi Memorial National Table Tennis Championships in Osun State.
The tournament, sponsored by the Michael and Felicia Alabi Foundation and organised by the Osun State Table Tennis Association under the auspices of the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF), will take place at Idera Multi-Purpose Hall in Otan Ayegbaju from April 27 to May 3, 2025.
Participating teams will come from various states including Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Taraba, Nasarawa, Abia, Adamawa, Anambra, Delta, Edo, Kwara, Kogi, Ekiti, Katsina, Niger, Zamfara, and the host state, Osun. Expected clubs include Aruna Sports Club, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and Nigeria Police Force.
With over ₦11.5 million at stake, the one-week tournament will take place at the newly built Michael and Felicia Alabi Memorial Table Tennis Hall.
Ayodeji Alabi, chairman of the Osun State Table Tennis Association, stated that the tournament aims to complement the federation’s efforts to discover new talent and empower youth across the country.
To enhance this year’s edition, the tournament promises a blend of sports and entertainment, with several artists scheduled to perform daily.
Alabi, a member of the ITTF Africa Committee, assured that all participants would be accommodated and fed throughout the event to motivate them to perform their best.
“Whoever comes to this tournament will take home a lot of happiness because we have an entertainment lounge featuring many artists. After the games, there will be comedy shows, music performances, and well-known disc jockeys. We are creating a diverse entertainment portfolio for everyone attending,” Alabi said.
Additionally, para and deaf events will be part of this year’s edition, with athletes competing in various categories including men’s singles, women’s singles, U-15 boys’ and girls’ singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles, mixed doubles, veteran singles, para men’s singles open, para women’s singles open, deaf men’s singles, deaf women’s singles, and local singles.
“This year, we expect about 400 to 450 participants, and we will house and feed them free of charge. This year’s tournament is different because we have created an environment where participants will sleep and eat well,” Alabi added.
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Solange Ngonda Tibesa, an Ogoja-based Cameroonian refugee, will be representing Nigeria at the fifth edition of the World Table Tennis Day 2025 event.
The WTTD 2025 is an event that is supported by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) to promote the development of the game of table tennis at the grassroots level all over the world.
According to the ITTF, “Thirty promoters were selected for World Table Tennis Day (WTTD) 2025.
“Representing 27 countries and territories across all five continents. These passionate individuals will play a pivotal role in uniting communities and sharing the joy of table tennis on 23rd April 2025.”
A record 160 persons applied to be considered as WTTD 2025 promoters, out of which Solange and 29 other applicants from 27 countries and five continents applied to be considered.
Furthermore, the ITTF stated that they will provide Solange and the other promoters with financial assistance, capacity-building resources, and personalised guidance to align their initiatives with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the theme of diversity and inclusion.
Solange, who is currently a full-time staff member of Save the Children, is also a trained netball coach who supervises the compulsory twice-a-week training of the more than thirty netballers who are based at the Adagom 3 refugee camp.
During a telephone interview with our reporter, Solange stated that on 23rd April 2025, she and the Ogoja refugees table tennis organising committee hope to hold the event in the Adagom 1, Adagom 3 and Ukende camps.
Over one thousand persons are expected to attend this event in the three separate refugee camps. The event will be spiced up with a table tennis challenge, live music, health and well-being talks, and some light refreshments for the spectators.
Furthermore, Solange stated: “As an experienced community worker, I know the important role sports can play in bringing people together and giving them the opportunities to compete with each other under set rules, in a respectful manner. I am also aware that sports could be used to empower and provide psychosocial support to vulnerable persons, including the physically challenged.
“We hope to use the game of table tennis to reach out to my fellow Cameroonians and members of our host community in Ogoja.”
Finally, Solange commended the CSED (Community Sports and Educational Development) Initiative for bringing the WTTD 2025 grant advertisement to her attention and encouraging her to apply for WTTD 2025.
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Wahid Enitan Oshodi, President of the African Table Tennis Federation (ITTF Africa), has reaffirmed the continental body’s commitment to supporting coaches in their quest to match their foreign counterparts.
Speaking as a guest at the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF)-organized National Hopes Week, Oshodi emphasized the importance of coaches growing alongside their players through regular training and courses to enhance their knowledge of the sport.
Following the recent Level 2 Coaching Course held in Tunisia, Oshodi assured that more training opportunities would be provided for those shaping future stars in Africa. “First of all, you need a pathway. Coaches who participated in last year’s ITTF training camp, which included the Level 1 Coaching Course, are part of this pathway.
“We want to see what the coaches are doing and bring the players they’ve been working with. For me, the main criterion is age. We need these kids playing U-9 and U-10 to develop into top players early.
“The best players in the world now are U-21, so we can’t do things differently. From what we’ve seen so far, Nigeria is on the right path.”
Oshodi added, “With NTTF National Hopes Week, we hope to see more talents emerge quickly. We have 30-40 children from all over Nigeria taking part, and the talent pool is much larger than that.
“Our coaches are improving, and we’re working on getting new courses for them so they can transfer their knowledge to the children. We’re pleased with the progress, and the results are starting to show.”
Tunji Lawal, Chairman of the Lagos State Table Tennis Association, also praised the initiative.
“These are the future generations of Nigeria, and it’s great to see them in action.
“This shows we have potential in Nigeria, and future stars like Aruna Quadri are emerging. We’re glad to have this kind of initiative for the development of the game in Nigeria. I believe success comes from failure, so even if Lagos isn’t in the finals, it means we have more work to do to bring our players up to the required standard. We will continue to try and do our best,” Lawal said.
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