Lagos Classics Listed In 2014 ITTF World Tour.

After awarding the hosting right to Nigeria to stage the maiden Africa Top 16 Cup, the International Table Tennis Federation,ITTF, has considered Nigeria for 2014 Lagos Classic World Tour.

The Chief Executive Officer of ITTF, Judit Farago, through President, African Table Tennis Federation, ATTF, Khaled El-Salhy, said ITTF the second edition of Lagos International Table Tennis Classic would be treated as part of the top professional table tennis circuit, GAC World Table Tennis Tour, 2014 .

The tour which will be holding in Lagos on twenty- third and end on twenty- sixth of June, 2013, will be automatically uploaded on the ITTF Calendar of 2014 together with ITTF-Africa Top 16 Cup  which will hold immediately after the World Tour.

The tour according to the international body will attract no additional fees from Nigeria Table Tennis Federation, while the event will get higher ranking in 2014.

President of ATTF,Khaled El-Salhy, says the gesture will ensure better attraction from the top players to participate and gain more points and also to qualify for World Tour Finals

Within three months of assuming office the present board of the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) presided over by Wahid Oshodi, has brought vibrancy to the game with staging of the Lagos Classics and other national competitions, which table tennis buffs believe would help the game to grow.

The GAC Group 20014 World Tour is divided into 3 tiers, the Super Series, then the Major Series and Challenge Series.

In 2014, the Korea Open has been promoted to the prestigious Super Series circuit, joining the same countries that hosted a Super Series in 2013, Kuwait, Qatar, Germany, Japan and China, to form the top tier of the GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour.

The Major Series, which is the next highest tier, will see the world's best table tennis players head to Europe's traditional Open events: Sweden, Russia, Spain and the Czech Republic.

Australia, Philippines, Nigeria, Chile and Argentina are the new faces in the Challenge Series, which shows the true extent of the growth and demand of table tennis across the globe.

Philippines, Nigeria and Argentina will make their debut on the tour next year, Australia was last time a host in 1999, while Hungary, Belgium and Chile come back after one year of absence to the Challenge Series.

 Joining these new destinations experienced organizers like Croatia, Belarus, Brazil and Morocco.