Aruna, Omotayo, Offiong fly Nigeria’s flag at world table tennis championships

Nigerian players will have their eyes set on laurels as the 2021 ITTF World Table Tennis Championships serve off on Tuesday in Houston, United States.

Aruna Quadri, Olajide Omotayo, Bode Abiodun, and Offiong Edem are the players flying the Nigerian flag at the competition.

Aruna, who is the 13th seed, will aim to advance beyond the third round of the competition which he reached in 2019, before losing to China’s Fan Zhendong.

He must, however, overcome Aleksandr Khanin of Belarus, who is ranked 152nd in the world, in the first round.

Omotayo is drawn against Brazil’s Gustavo Tsuboi in the first round. The 26-year-old must also improve his form to defeat the Brazilian who sent Aruna packing in round 3 of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Abiodun, on the other hand, will battle India’s Amalraj Anthony for a spot in the second round as Edem, Nigeria’s sole female representative, was paired with Hong Kong’s Hoi Kem Doo in the women’s singles first round.

Egypt has the highest number of African players at the tourney with Omar Assar, Ahmed Saleh, Khalid Assar, Dina Meshref, Yousra Helmy, and Farah Abdel-Aziz.

Senegal’s Ibrahima Diaw, Algeria’s Sami Kherouf, and Katia Kessaci will also be hoping to make their country and the continent proud.

The competition commences on November 23 till 29 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas.