Nigeria defeated Algeria on Monday to claim the men’s team title of the 2024 International Table Tennis (ITTF) Africa Championships.
Team Nigeria consisting of Matthew Kuti, Olajide Omotayo and Quadri Aruna beat their Algerian counterparts to win the championship in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
In the opening round, Algeria’s Sami Kherouf’s 3-2 win over Omotayo saw the Algerians go ahead early but Aruna evened the score with a 3-1 victory over Milhane Jellouli.
Kuti put on a dominant performance in the third round with a 3-0 win over Maheidine Bella, while Aruna defeated Kherouf in the last round with a decisive 3-1 score.
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This sealed Nigeria’s win and saw them lift the title for the first time in seven years — since their last championship victory in Mauritius in 2018.
Nigeria has won the Africa Senior Men’s Team title for the first time in seven years!
The team inspired by Quadri Aruna, Olajide Omotayo and Kuti Matthew defeated Algeria 3-1 in the final to reclaim the title they last won in 2018 in Mauritius#ITTFAChamps24 pic.twitter.com/xyRnfIOXsa
Advertisement— ITTF-Africa (@ITTFAfrica) October 14, 2024
The Nigerian women’s team however came second after losing out to the Egyptians in the finals.
Ajoke Ojomu, Fatimo Bello, and Hope Udoaka lost their respective rounds, giving Egypt a clean sweep victory.
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Ojomu lost 3-0 to Hannah Goda in the first round while Yousra Helmy defeated Bello 3-2 in a close contest in the following round. Mariam Alhodaby also dominated Udoaka in the final round with a 3-0 win.
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