The 2023 World Championships will be the second time Africa
will be hosting the ITTF World Championships as the city of Durban in South
Africa was awarded the hosting right in 2020 at the ITTF AGM in 2020.
Four events – team (men and women) and singles (men and
women) – will be jostled for at the tournament with Nigeria’s Rilwan Akanbi
facing familiar foes and top players from Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana.
Two-time regional champion Fatimo Bello of Nigeria will also
be hoping to retain the title she won in Abidjan and Lagos in 2019 and 2021, respectively.
According to the Secretary-General of the Western Region,
Prof Germain Karou, the huge turnout from the teams was based on the quality of
organisation coupled with the quality of players expected at the three-day
tournament hosted by the Lagos State Government under the technical
coordination of the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF).
“I am so excited with the large turnout of teams for the
third edition of the regional championships because for any team to be part of
the world championship, such team had to participate in the regional event and
that is why most of the teams have decided to come to Lagos State, a good city
which has become the hub of table tennis in Africa.
“Apart from being a good host, Nigeria is known globally as
a good organiser of table tennis event in the world with the ever-supporting
fans coupled with the quality of play, we cannot wait to start on May 19 and by
21, we will know the teams that will be qualifying from the region to the World
Championships in 2023 in Durban, South Africa,” Karou said.
Egypt dominated the Northern Region qualifiers held in
Algeria while Mauritius ruled at the Eastern Region qualifiers hosted by
Ethiopia.
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