There are strong indications that the just concluded Valuejet Para Table Tennis (PTT) Open may be listed on the ITTF event calendar in 2020. Impressed with the organisation coupled with the standard of play at the maiden edition of the tournament held at Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium. The ITTF Nomination Committee Chairman […]
via Valuejet PTT Open May Be Listed On ITTF Calendar In 2020 — finixsportsblog
On the first day of competition, for over 20 minutes, players taking part in the 2017 Africa Cup decided to delay the championships due to the lack of improvement in their lots at continental level. When the match was expected to kick off at 4pm, the players in group wanted to address the spectators about […]
via African Table Tennis Athletes Demand For Better In Africa — newfanzoneblog
2014 International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Star Player, Aruna Quadri and six-time Olympian, Segun Toriola as well as Olufunke Oshonaike and Edem Offiong have been confirmed as Nigeria’s representatives at next month’s ITTF Africa Top 16 Cup holding in Khartoum, Sudan.
In the list of qualified released by the Africa Table Tennis Federation (ATTF), Quadri who won the tournament in 2014 in Lagos will battle for the title against his rival, Egypt’s Omar Assar who has remained a threat to the Nigerian dominating the continent.
The tournament scheduled to hold on February 14 to 15 has the top 15 players on the continent including a player from the host country to complete the top 16.
Toriola will join Quadri to compete for the laurel in the men’s event while Oshonaike who has already secured a place at this year’s Rio Olympic Games in Brazil will be joined in the women’s event by Edem Offiong who is at present plying her trade in the Portuguese elite league.
Having claimed three titles in 2015, the Egyptian duo of Omar Assar and Dina Meshref top the list of invitees for the two-day tournament to be staged at the International Conference Centre in Khartoum, the capital city of Sudan.
Winners in the men and women events will represent the continent at the 2016 World Cups.
The list of players are;
Men: Omar Assar (Egypt), Quadri Aruna (Nigeria), El-Sayed Lashin (Egypt), Saheed Idowu (Congo Brazzaville), Segun Toriola (Nigeria), Idir Khourta (Algeria), Suraju Saka (Congo Brazzaville), Olouwachehoun Guiganfode (Benin), Mawussi Agbetoglo (Togo), Sofiène Boudjadja (Algeria), Adem Hamam (Tunisia), Fessou Lawson-Gaizer (Togo), Alain Patrick Jague Niken Jiotsa (Cameroon), Derek Abrefa (Ghana), Emmanuel Ngwe Nikeng (Cameroon)
Women: Dina Meshref (Egypt), Nadeen El-Dawlatly (Egypt), Han Xing (Congo Brazzaville), Olufunke Oshonaike (Nigeria), Offiong Edem (Nigeria), Sara Hanffou (Cameroon), Islem Laid (Algeria), Lynda Loghraibi (Algeria), Zodwa Maphanga (South Africa), Amma Liobaka (Democratic Republic of Congo), Onyinyechi Nwachukwu (Congo Brazzaville), Cynthia Kwabi (Ghana), Harriet Ntumnyuy (Cameroon), Celia baah-Danso (Ghana), Isabel Albino (Angola).
In Nigeria, Segun Toriola holds the record of being the first Nigerian to feature in six Olympic Games after the 2012 London Olympic Games. However, all eyes will be on the former five-time Africa champion when the 2016 Africa Olympic Qualification Tournament begins in Khartoum, Sudan comes February 16 to 18, 2016.
Having debuted at the Barcelona 1992 Olympics in Spain, Segun Toriola has made it to all the Olympics while his biggest achievement at the Olympics was reaching the Men’s Singles 1/16 final at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, beating amongst others former world number 1, Belgium’s Jean-Michel Saive as well as Canada’s David Zhuang. His 1/32 match-up with Jean-Michel Saive was seen by many as one of the highlights of the Men’s Singles Tournament. He narrowly lost 4-3 to heavily favoured South Korea’s Oh Sang-Eun in the 1/16 final.
His fifth Olympic appearance in 2008 made him the first Nigerian man to appear at five Olympics. This feat was achieved four years earlier by sprinter Mary Onyali and also in 2008 by fellow table tennis player Bose Kaffo. With his participation in 2012 Olympics in London he became the only Nigerian athlete to appear at six Olympics. He therefore joined João N’Tyamba of Angola and Maria Mutola of Mozambique as only third ever African athlete to compete in six Olympics.
Having narrowly missed the automatic qualification at the 2015 African Games in Congo Brazzaville following his quarterfinal loss to Congo Brazzaville’s WANG Jianan, Segun Toriola will be hoping for one of the two slots available in the men’s event in Sudan.
As the most successful table tennis player in Africa, the former African king will be the cynosure of all eyes as he aims to become the first African to play in seven Olympics.
According to the President of Africa Table Tennis Federation (ATTF), Khaled El-Salhy, the tournament hopes to open a new chapter in the history of table tennis in the continent with Segun Toriola on the verge of history while the host – Sudan hopes to stage a colourful event.
“We are following up the well preparation from Sudan TTA for the events, the venue will be a very big surprise and a real honour for Africa Table Tennis to host such Top 16 Cup followed by the African Qualification 2nd Tournament for 2016 Rio Olympic Games
On whether Congo Brazzaville can nominate their second Chinese import for the qualifiers, the ATTF boss said: “In-spite of the African qualification tournament for 2016 Rio OG, it will take place in Khartoum – Sudan on February 16 to 18, 2016 just after the ITTF-Africa Top 16 Cup, and the eligibility for such event is for all nominees having valid passports (i.e. according to IOC eligibility), the same rules already applied for the 11th African Games as the 1st qualification event to 2016 Rio OG. This means that as Congo Brazzaville still entitled to send one entry in each single event (men & women), thus they can nominate HU Bin in men & also LI Yuheng in women if they wish to do so.”
He added: “All African Associations are entitled to send two entries (men) + two entries (women) for the African Qualification Tournament in Sudan (16-18/2/2016) except for : Sudan as the host to have 4 men + 4 women, Congo Brazzaville to send 1 man + 1 woman, Nigeria to send 1 man + 1 woman, while for Egypt no chance to send any entries in both. This is due to the already qualified players from the 1st stage of qualification in Brazzaville (September 2015) with 4 men + 4 women including (2 from EGY, 1 from NGR & 1 from CGO), especially all those qualified players already confirmed by their NOCs to play in 2016 Rio OG.”
Under the leadership of Khaled El-Salhy as the President of Africa Table Tennis Federation (ATTF), new grounds and records have been set with all eyes on the continent come September 4 to 19 at the 11th All Africa Games in Congo Brazzaville.
The continental multi-sport event will return to its birth place this year where it all started in 1965 in Brazzaville. Thousands of athletes from the 54 projected countries are expected to compete in the competition, which is meant to engender friendship among the participants.
Since 1973 when table tennis became part of the events, all eyes will once again be on table tennis this year as one of the 22 sports listed for the games.
However, ATTF boss said as usual table tennis will attract more participants this year as over 30 countries will compete in seven events.
“I am dreaming that we will continue to secure the best image and promote the interest of table tennis among all other sports in Congo Brazzaville. I hope we can have the best look due to top class equipment. I look forward to the best feedback due to the results as well as the best media coverage based on the stiff competition now among Nigeria, Egypt and Congo Brazzaville as the host and also with its new Chinese players whom are eligible to take part in the Games as per International Olympic Committee (IOC) eligibility rules, and this will make the temperature much higher in Brazzaville come September,” El-Salhy said.
He added: “We are expecting over 30 countries, which is a big target. At the 2011 edition in Mozambique, we had over 26 countries as a record and I saw that table tennis was number one considering the results from the participating countries.”
On the eligibility of the new Chinese imports by Congo Brazzaville, he said: “The rules are clear on this matter because such players could not participate easily in our ITTF/ATTF official events due to applying the ITTF eligibility rules, while for the All Africa Games, IOC eligibility rules will be applied and this permits some more players to join the Games due to the Olympic Charter. The presence of the Chinese players will give more challenge to our top players to prove that the real African players are not less than those in Europe and Asia.”
For the giant stride made in the continent in the last three years, El-Salhy said: “I am so happy for the big steps we have made regarding growth and popularity of table tennis not only worldwide but also in Africa. For example, two years no one could believe that we could have live streaming on YouTube and some TV channels for our African Cup or African Championships as we have now in 2015. Also, the membership of ATTF this year has reached 51 affiliated National Associations. This was made possible because we have been and still working as a team in ATTF Executive Committee (EC) to enlarge the number of Affiliated Associations within ITTF/ATTF, and also to promote the participation and good organization of our activities to give the sport more popularity.”
The table tennis number one citizen in Africa acknowledged the crucial roles played by Nigeria and Egypt to promote the growth of the sport. “The traditional competition between Nigeria and Egypt, and lately with Congo Brazzaville is very important to promote the game in their countries and Africa, I see that Nigeria and Egypt are the two legs of table tennis in Africa and they complement each other in terms of their performance at global level,” he explained.
To become the second Nigerian in the International Olympic Committee (IOC), former Secretary General, Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), Olabanji Oladapo has been appointed into the IOC’s Communications Commission.
In a letter signed by IOC President, Thomas Bach and dated May 26, 2015, Oladapo’s appointment was based on his enormous contributions to sports in Nigeria, Africa and the World.
“Following the unanimous approval of Olympic Agenda 2020 during the 127th IOC Session in Monaco, and as per recommendation 40, I have reviewed, in consultation with the IOC Executive Board, the scope and composition of the IOC commissions, to align them with Olympic Agenda 2020. It is with great pleasure that I appoint you as a Member of the Communications Commission,” Bach said.
Oladapo will join NOC President, Habu Gumel, who is the only Nigerian Ambassador to IOC and member of Commission.
The erstwhile NOC scribe is a current board member of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) as well as the Vice President, Africa Table Tennis Federation (ATTF).
Four days to the commencement of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Championships in China, there are doubts that Nigeria will be present at the global tournament due to lack of funds.
Only last week, Nigeria failed to take part in the ITTF African Junior Championship following the inability of the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) to secure funds from the National Sports Commission (NSC).
Despite efforts by the Wahid Oshodi led NTTF board to return Nigeria to the zenith of the sport in Africa, there has not be commensurate backing from the NSC and this has become a source of worry to table tennis buffs.
In February the NTTF had informed the NSC about the country’s participation in the championship but up till now there has not been any concrete assurance or approval from the NSC that the team would feature in the competition.
Also the singular effort of Aruna Quadri to put Nigeria on the world map by winning the ITTF Star Player of the year has not received any formal support from the commission.
However, Nigerian players have also been considered as title contenders at the global championship holding in Suzhou, China but the recent development may prevent the team from taking part in the event.
Effort by NTTF to secure fund from NSC has been frustrated by the office of Federation and Elite Athlete Department (FEAD) headed by Khalid Gidado.
It was learned that NTTF has written to the commission in February to be part of the competition with all the necessary documents provided by the federation backing up the country’s participation in the championship while the Director General (DG), Gbenga Elegbeleye has also given his verbal approval but the inability of FEAD to make the file available to the DG for final approval has stalled the release of fund.
This development has made it impossible for the federation to get the fund on time to travel to Suzhou in China for the competition.
Also the federation has also made effort to secure a one-week training camp for the team and this has received the nodding of the Chinese Table Tennis Association but the fund to get the flight ticket for the team may have stopped the team from flying to China last week.
Also the federation intends to use the tournament to tune up the team for the African Cup in Cameroun as well as the All Africa Games in Congo Brazzaville but this development may halt the federation’s plan.
It will be recalled that Nigeria failed to make it to the last ITTF African Junior Championships held in Mauritius over paucity of fund. A development the Africa Table Tennis Federation (ATTF) believes would affect the giant stride made by NTTF in the last two years.
The President, Africa Table Tennis Federation (ATTF), Khaled El-Salhy took time out at the just concluded ITTF World Tour, Lagos Open to pay a condolence visit to the family of late Sir Chief Molade Okoya-Thomas at their Victoria Island residence in Lagos, Nigeria.
The ATTF boss was accompanied by the ATTF Vice President and member, ITTF Board of Director, Olabanji Oladapo as well as Former Deputy President of ITTF, Engineer George Segun including board member, Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) led by their President, Wahid Oshodi.
Before his demise on February 1, 2015 at 79, Okoya-Thomas was the longest individual sponsor of table tennis tournament in Africa as he had bankrolled the annual Asoju Oba Cup for 45 years uninterrupted and the tournament has produced some of the continent’s greatest players like Atanda Musa, Late Yomi Bankole and Biola Odumosu.
The team was received by the children of the departed philanthropist, Mr. Deji Okoya-Thomas, Ms. Jumoke Okoya-Thomas and Mrs. Tosin Alobo-Bakare.
In his remarks, The ATTF helmsman described the late Okoya-Thomas as a strong supporter of table tennis in Africa and the visit became necessary in order to symphatise with the family as well as acknowledge the immense contribution that the business mogul made in Nigeria.
“On behalf of ITTF, ATTF and NTTF, we want to express our sincere condolence to the family for the exit of this great man. What he has done confirmed that he was a great man who used his wealth to promote a cause that has changed the lives of so many individuals in Nigeria. We believe this great and respectable has gone but his ideals will still remain with us. He has been a strong supporter of the game and he necessitated the birth of the Lagos Open. We hope that his ideal will be preserved and nurtured by the family even as we hope that others in the continent will emulate this great man. We feel the pain of the family and we believe his soul will rest in peace,” El-Salhy said.
For Oladapo, the late Okoya-Thomas was a shining example for all Nigerians considering his humility and generousity toward everybody. “He never stopped sponsoring the tournament which started in 1968 and has produced the likes of Babatunde Obisanya, former Nigeria national coach as well as Atanda Musa, a star in Africa. We just hope that his dream and aspiration will not be allowed to just go like that. We will surely miss him in our midst but we take solace in the fact that the has gone to rest finally with the Lord.” Obisanya said.
Responding on behalf of the family, Deji Okoya-Thomas thanked ITTF and ATTF for deeming it fit to visit the family, while assuring that they their late father’s legacy will be nurtured to grow. “I am assuring you again that the Asoju Oba Cup will continue and this has been the wish of our father and we hope to make it more exciting. Thank you for this golden visit,” he said.
The late chief of Lagos was buried on Friday March 6 in Lagos.
After months of preparation coupled with confirmation of participants, the International Table Tennis Federation World Tour, Lagos Open serves off on Tuesday March 10 at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium.
82 players drawn from 11 countries will compete in the $46,000 prize money championship which is also a world ranking event listed on the ITTF World Tour calendar as a challenge series.
As the second challenge series after the Hungary Open early this year, the tournament will once again bring to fore the fierce rivalry between Nigeria and Egypt as the North African team has a 12-man contingent competing in the six events jostling for at the championship.
Unlike the previous editions, where players are expected to compete from the group stage to qualify for the next stage, this year’s will witness a knock-out format, where players will only progress after winning each match.
According to the ITTF-appointed Competition Manager, Mounir Bessah, the stage is set for the commencement of the competition as everything has been put in place by the host.
“I am satisfied with what I have seen so far and there is an improvement from what I witnessed last year. I think the tournament is improving each year and I am happy with the atmosphere coupled with the kind of organization put in place. We are also hopeful that the players will have an exciting time in Lagos. The equipment is world standard as it meets ITTF specifications while the hotel and logistics are also perfect. I believe that the tournament will be more exciting this year with the quality of players competing this year,” Bessah said.
An elated President, Africa Table Tennis Federation (ATTF), Khaled El-Salhy believes Lagos Open has become a rally point for Africa with the quality of organization as well as the presence of Lagos fans who most times make the tournament very glamorous.
“I am looking forward to the huge support the players used to get from the Lagos fans. I think this competition is unique because the fans are always there for the players and this alone makes the tournament different from every other in the continent. I must commend the efforts of the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) led by Wahid Oshodi for their commitment and sincerity in igniting the love for the sport among the fans and for us in the ATTF, this is very important for our sport to grow and get more sponsors,” the ATTF boss said.
Meanwhile ITTF Star Player, Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri has his first training on Monday with the resolve to make his fans happy at the end of the competition.
For his enormous contribution to the growth of table tennis in Nigeria and in the continent, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF)/Africa Table Tennis Federation (ATTF) have described the demise of Chief Molade Okoya-Thomas as a setback to the sport.
In a statement signed by the ATTF Executive Vice-President and ITTF Board Member, Olabanji Oladapo, the passing of the business mogul was shocking to the table tennis community in Africa.
“The death of Chief Molade Okoya-Thomas was shocking and unexpected by the Table Tennis Community in Africa. Chief Okoya-Thomas is gone but his good deeds will survive him forever.
He was a human monument, philanthropist, and father-of-all in sports particularly Table Tennis in which he was a colossal sponsor. The demise of the longest sponsor of Table Tennis in Nigeria and Africa will have far reaching effect on youth development in Nigeria and Africa,” he said.
The ATTF official added that the annual Asoju Oba Cup has become a platform to groom future stars for Nigeria with most of them making the continent proud.
He added: “His yearly sponsorships of Asoju Oba Table Tennis Competition for more than 40years was the bed rock of Nigeria near invisibility in Table Tennis in Africa for more than four decades. The competition produced renowned Nigerian and African Champions like Babatunde Obisanya, Atanda Musa, Segun Toriola, Bose Kaffo, Funke Oshonaike and a host of others. He will be sorely missed by all- Athletes, Technical officials and Administrators in the Continent.”
Following their pedigree in the continent, Host – Egypt and Nigeria are top seeds for this week’s International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Africa Senior Championships, which serves off in Cairo on Friday, January 23.
Also, the draw for the team events of the championship holds on Thursday January 23 in Cairo.
However, the seeding once again confirmed the dominance of Egypt over Nigeria as well as their superiority on the continent.
In Cairo, the rivalry between Egypt and Nigeria will once again come to fore as the North Africans are rated ahead of the West Africa giants in the team event of the championship.
In the seeding list released by the Africa Table Tennis Federation (ATTF), Egypt, which is the highest ranked African country in the world is seeded number one in men’s team event, while they are also seeded number one in the women’s division as well.
Despite Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri rise in the world rating, Egypt still holds the ace in Africa.
Table tennis buffs believe the recent ranking is a reflection of years of setback suffered by Nigeria under various boards of the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF). But since the new board led by Wahid Oshodi, Nigeria is closing up the gap with the North Africans following the exceptional performance of the Segun Toriola-captained side at the last World Team Championship in Japan.
In the men’s seeding, other seeded teams among the 19 countries expected at the tournament are Congo Brazzaville, Algeria, Togo, Libya, Cameroun and Congo DRC for the men’s event.
Egypt also tops the seedings in the women’s event, other teams in the seeding list are Nigeria, Congo Brazzaville, Algeria, Cameroun and Congo DRC.
Egyptian players dominated the singles event with the trio of El-Sayed Lashin, Omar Assar and Ahmed Saleh seeded in top three while Nigeria’s Quadri is fourth on the seeding list.
In the women’s seeding, Congo Brazzaville’s Han Xing tops, while Egypt’s trio of Dina Meshref, Nadeed El-Dawlatly and Farah Abdel-Aziz.
Other top seed players are Nigeria’s duo of Offiong Edem and Funke Oshonaike. The draw for the team event holds tomorrow, while matches serve off on Friday
Nigeria and other African countries are at present undergoing intensive training cum competition at the 2014 International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF)-Africa Table Tennis Federation (ATTF) U-12 Africa Hopes Week and Challenge taking place in Nairobi, Kenya.
The Nigeria four-man team is made up of Michael Obayanmi, Ibrahim Umar (male) and Rophia Jimoh and Habibat Olawale (female) and tutored by Coach Friday Abah.
Beside the four-day training exercise to be handled by top ITTF coach, the participating teams will compete in a two-day tournament to decide the eight players that will be offered scholarships to attend the 2014 ITTF World Hopes Week & Challenge to be held in Otocec, Slovenia) in June this year.
The event organized by ATTF and Kenya Table Tennis Association (KTTA) will hold at the Safaricom Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, Nairobi.
Each participating team will be represented by a maximum of two boys and two girls, while the host – Kenya will be represented by a maximum of four boys and four girls.
According to Africa Development Officer, Ahmed Dawlatly, the top four players in the singles tournament for boys and girls would automatically be selected for the scholarships.
For the President, Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF), Wahid Oshodi, efforts would be geared toward grassroots development, as it is obvious that other nations are now catching up with Nigeria in the game.
“We have identified that we need to start encouraging our young players and this is one of the vision of the federation and for us this kind of programme will surely help us to expose our players to top class training and competition. We were luck to have such programme last year and we hope our players will also garner more knowledge by taking part in this exercise holding in Kenya,” “ he said.
The Nigeria Team was also accompanied by players’ representative in the NTTF board, Tajudeen Agunbiade while the trip was made possible with the singular support of Mr. Bankole Animashaun, a friend of table tennis.
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