Nigeria and nine other countries are set for the Western Region qualifiers of the 2023 International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Championships (WC) qualifiers which kick off today at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium.
Apart from Nigeria, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, and Senegal, other teams participating in the tournament are Mali, Guinea, Niger Republic, Benin Republic, Burkina Faso, and Togo.
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While Nigeria’s Rilwan Akanbi and Fatimo Bello will be defending their titles in the singles events the host nation will also be aiming to retain the team events titles.
The participating teams will be targeting the few slots from the region on the final day on May 21.
Team Nigeria is to be led by Akanbi while other members of the team include Amadi Umeh, Azeez Solanke, and Taiwo Mati.
Bello will lead the women’s team alongside Tosin Oribamise, Ajoke Ojomu, and Bose Odusanya.
The Secretary-General of the Western Region, Prof Germain Karou said, “We want to enjoy the best of table tennis from the talents that are from the region and we hope more Quadri Aruna will emerge from the tournament.
“It promises to be exciting being the qualifiers for the 2023 World Championships in Durban, South Africa.”
