Omotayo Bows Out of WTT As Aruna Takes Centre Stage.

 

African history-maker Olajide Omotayo bowed out fighting in the second stage of the preliminary round of the World Table Tennis (WTT) Middle East Hub taking place in Doha, Qatar.

The $200,000 prize-money tournament is the first official WTT event with 298 players from 66 countries taking part just as the highest ranked African star Quadri Aruna ready to compete from the main draw of the men’s singles.

Omotayo who on Sunday set an African record as the first player from the continent to win a match at the WTT tournament after beating Kazakhstan’s Alan Kurmangaliyev in the first stage of the preliminary round with players from Egypt and Algeria tasting defeats in all their matches.

Pitched against the best player in the German Bundesliga, Sweden’s Anton Kallberg, the 2019 African Games champion showed class against his opponent despite going 2-0 (11-8, 11-3) down in the tie, Omotayo fought back with 11-9, 11-7 wins to put the match at 2-2. Even in the deciding game, Omotayo was leading 7-5 before surrendering the match to his European counterpart at 11-7 to exit the competition from the preliminary round.

“It was not easy after a year of not playing any official match but I am happy with my performance. All I need to do now is to concentrate on what I did not do right and try to improve that aspect. With this tournament I gained more confidence going into the next tournament. I hope to watch more matches of top players in readiness for another tournament later this week in Doha,” Omotayo said.

Egypt’s duo of Omar Assar and Ahmed Saleh were also not lucky in their matches as they were bundled out from the same stage of the competition by their European counterparts.

2019 Nigeria Open revelation Senegal’s Ibrahima Diaw remains the only African that progressed to the third stage of the preliminary after a convincing 3-0 (11-8, 11-5, 11-6) win over Romania’s Sipos Rares.  

And to be sure of competing alongside Aruna in the main draw, Diaw will have to overcome Russia’s Kirill Skachkov on Tuesday Match 2.

Aruna who is the only ranked African in the top 20 seeded players is shaping up for the main draw expected to kick off on Wednesday Match 3 as the organisers unveiled the new show court tables expected to be used for the main draw event of the tournament.

Marcus Ayomide Wins Portuguese Liga 2 Player of the Month of January.

 

Nigeria's international, Ayomide Marcus, who plays for CD Fierense, has been voted the best player in the Portuguese Liga 2 by the coaches of teams playing in the league. 

Since the turn of the new year, Marcus scintillating performance saw him scoring 3 goals and providing one assist in 4 games.

 

The 21-year-old received 15.00% of the votes, the same percentage as Mohammed Bouldini, from A. Académica, and the tiebreaker was made through the playing time played during the period in question. 

Marcus played 278 minutes, while Mohammed counted 326 minutes on the pitch, so the distinction was awarded to the campfire athlete. 

The podium is complete with Crespo, midfielder from Estoril Praia, with 12.00%

Ayomide Marcus has scored a total of 7 goals with an assist to his name from 12 games this season, making him the most effective forward so far in the league. 

TTC Look Up To Aruna To End Slide In TTBL

 

To end the continuous slide of TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell in the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL), the management of TTC is looking up to Quadri Aruna to end the drop in the league.

 

 

 

 

 

After losing three consecutive matches against Neu-Ulm, Schwalbe-Berneustadt and Ochsenhausen at home, TTC will host visiting Post SV Mühlhausen in the Wilmingtonhalle at home on Sunday January 3, 2021.

 

Clau-Dieter Schad, Vice President of the TTC considers their visitors an easy prey but warned that Aruna and his mates should not be complacent but end their slide at home.

"Even if they are not quite as good in the table, they are a strong opponent. We'll have to get everything,” Schad warned.

 

According to Schad, TTC were complacent in the last few games, and they failed to win against the top opponents despite good performances to suffer three defeats in a row at the end of the year. 

"It's of course annoying that we weren't able to take one or two wins from the games, but it also showed that the path we were taking is the right one," said Schad. 

 

With German international Ruwen Filus and Aruna in their best form at present, Schad is confident the Nigerian can deliver the team.

With Aruna yet to get used to the league, Schad said: "That is why it is right that we do not raise the targets too early, but I am convinced that he (Aruna) will go a step further.”

In readiness for the tie against Mühlhausen, the memory of the unfortunate 1-3 loss away to the visitors is still fresh in the memory of TTC but optimism prevails before the game. 

 

"We are optimistic and want to start the New Year with a sense of achievement," says Schad.

ITTF re-appoints Oshodi as Chairman of Nomination Committee

For his sterling display coupled with his exceptional leadership style, the Executive Committee of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has reappointed Nigeria’s Wahid Enitan Oshodi as the Chairman of its Nomination Committee for another term of office.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In a statement signed by ITTF Secretary General, Raul Calin, the composition of the Nominations Committee chaired by Oshodi for the term 2020-2022 was confirmed at the ITTF Executive Committee meeting held on Monday December 21 2020.

 

Oshodi, Vice President, ITTF Africa Western Region rose from being a member of the committee as the first Nigerian and African to chair the highest committee in the world body is expected to serve for another two-year term (2020-2022) with most of its former members returning with the exception of one new member who is joining the team for the first time.

 

Oshodi, a former president of the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) and the brain behind Africa’s elite table tennis tournament, ITTF Challenge Nigeria Open will lead the six-man committee with Qatar’s Abdulla Al-Mulla as his deputy while other members of the committee are Sandra Deaton (England), Andreas Georgiou (Cyprus), Lofti Guerfel (Tunisia) and Kook-Hee An (Korea Republic).

 

ITTF President, Thomas Weikert and ITTF CEO Steve Dainton as well as Presidents of the Continental Federations and Executive Committee as Masahiro Maehara (Japan) as part of the Ex-officio members in the committee.

The President of African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF) Khaled El-Salhy described Oshodi’s re-appointment as a plus to Africa.

 

“I have the great pleasure to congratulate you on behalf of all my colleagues of ATTF Executive Council (EC) for the full trust from ITTF EC to renew your assignment as the Chairman of the ITTF Nominations Committee for the coming period (2020-2022). Such congratulation is not only for you personally but also for all Africa to secure such an important mission in favour of our continent due to your great efforts and hard work in all fields as usual,” he said.

 

For the Secretary General, Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), Olabanji Oladapo, the reappointment of Oshodi was a confirmation of the confidence of members of ITTF Board.

 

“Congratulations on your re-appointment as the chairman of the high ranking ITTF Nomination Committee. Being the only African nominated to this position, your appointment confirmed the confidence members of the ITTF Board have in your extraordinary performance in the position. May God continue to direct you in all your undertakings; I wish you well,” Oladapo said.

 

An excited President of NTTF Ishaku Tikon described Oshodi’s re-appointment as a confirmation of his exceptional leadership trait particularly his immense contribution to the sport in Nigeria and the continent. 

 

“I am not surprised that my predecessor was reappointed again as the chairman of the highest body in ITTF and this is a confirmation of his depository of knowledge coupled with his efforts at regional and continental levels which have been recognized globally by the table tennis family. This is also a good development for Nigeria having its own at the helm of the sport in the world,” Tikon said.

 

 

 

52nd Asoju Oba Table Tennis Cup kicks off Nov 30

 
The annual Asoju Oba Molade Okoya-Thomas Table Tennis Cup has been fixed for Monday, November 30th through Tuesday,  December 1st, 2020, at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium.

According to Ayodeji Okoya-Thomas, the fifty- second edition will be organized in line with COVID-19 protocols as its being laid down by the Lagos State Sports Commission, LSSC as table tennis players would be competing for honours in the Men's and Women's Singles events.

Okoya-Thomas, said this year's edition which would be the sixth edition without the initiator, Chief Molade Okoya-Thomas, who passed on after the forty-sixth edition in 2014, would be limited to the Men's and Women's Singles events, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said the family decided to organise the tournament in order to ensure the competition which was one of the oldest sporting events in the country, continues uninterrupted, stressing that the championship would help to prepare Lagos State ping pongers to the National Sports Festival, in Edo State.

He said the competition had been a viable platform to discover ping ponger who could be groomed and nurtured to become top Nigeria's table tennis stars, stressing the event would produce enough ping pongers who join the league of table tennis players who were playing professionally in Europe after being discover through the competition.

David Fayele, winner of last's year's Men's Singles and Bose Odusanya, winner of Women's Singles, are expected to defend their titles.

The annual tournament, which was organized by the family of late Chief Molade Okoya-Thomas Thomas, started in 1968 with former national coach Babatunde Obisanya being the first winner.

The tournament, is being staged in collaboration with the Lagos State Sports Commission, LSSC, under the technical supervision of the Lagos State Table Tennis Association, LSTTA.

2020 ITTF World Cup: Aruna Quadri gets German, Slovenian opponents

 

Nigeria’s flagbearer at the 2020 ITTF World Cup Aruna Quadri has been pitched against Germany’s Patrick Franziska and Slovenia’s Darko Jorgic in group three of the first round stage of the championship taking place in Weihai, China.

 

The tournament is one of the four Restart Competitions lined-up by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) for the return of international events following COVID-19 pandemic which broke out across the globe. International table tennis events have been on hold since March 2020 and the Restart tournaments include, Women’s World Cup, Men’s World Cup, ITTF Finals and WTT championship scheduled for Macau later this month as well.

 

Already, the Women’s World Cup has concluded with China’s Chen Meng emerging as champion in her maiden outing and the Men’s World Cup which has Quadri and Egypt’s Ahmed Saleh as Africa’s representatives kicks off on Friday November 13 to 15 at Weihai Nanhai Olympic Sport Centre.

 

At the draw held on Thursday November 12, Quadri will slug it out for a place in the main draw against German Franziska while his final group match will be against the young Slovenian who is considered as one of the emerging stars from Europe.

 

According to ITTF, the Nigerian is regarded as one of the dark horses of the competition who is making his sixth World Cup appearance since making his debut in 2009 in Moscow, Russia.

 

Quadri is a bronze medallist at the 2019 ITTF Africa Cup, and he is seeded no.13 among the 21 players competing in the three-day tournament.

 

“A regular at world title events, Quadri Aruna is no stranger to pushing the table tennis elite to the limit. Aruna will want to improve his best quarter-final finish of six years ago in Düsseldorf, as he could not go past the round of 16 in last year’s edition. What will the African representative bring to the table in Weihai?,” ITTF wrote.

 

The top two players in the four groups are expected to advance to the main draw where they will be drawn against the top eight seeds in the main draw of the championship.

ITTF Lists Nigeria Open, Confirms Date For Tournament.

ARUNA QUADRI

The International Table Tennis Federation, ITTF, has listed Nigeria Open in its Challenge Series calendar as well as confirms the date for the championships holding at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium.

Nigeria Open remains the highest prize money tournament among the ITTF Challenge Series with a purse of $46000 and the world table tennis ruling body has also named Algeria’s Mounir Bessah as the competition manager.

For this year, the Nigeria Open will hold on August 9 to 13 with players across the globe expected to complete their registration by July 20. The final entries for singles is July 10 while the final entries for doubles is July 20.

According to the 2017 ITTF Challenge Directives, limited number of entries to players is 180, while only the final entries are taken into consideration by the organizers and the Competition Manager for the participation of players.

In the prospectus released at the weekend, a national association can enter a maximum of six players with the host getting 12 slots in each gender.

However, the tournament will be preceded by the qualification events commencing on Wednesday August 9 to 10 while the main draw will serve off on August 10.

Nigeria’s Femi George is the Tournament Director.

Already, men’s singles defending champion, Finland’s Olah Benedek has confirmed his readiness to defend the title while some European stars have expressed their intention to be part of the tournament.

Legend Segun Toriola Bows Out

The legendary performance of Segun Toriola at the ongoing Rio 2016 Olympic Games came to a glorious end on Sunday August 7 after the record making African was edged out by Japan’s Niwa Koki in the men’s singles event of table tennis.

Despite his exit, the world table tennis ruling body, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) plans to organise a ceremony in Rio to honour the Nigerian for his Olympic feat after making his seventh appearance at the Olympic Games being the first African to achieve the feat.

Toriola who is ranked 120 in the world, had on Saturday August 6 bundled out Czech Republic’s Dimitrij Prokopcov in the first round.

Playing against a higher ranked Prokopcov in the first round of the Men’s Singles event, the African legend pulled off an impressive performance against his opponent with a 4-2 (8-11, 11-6, 11-8, 9-11, 11-8, 11-8) win to end the Czech’s Olympic dream in Rio.

In the second round tie against the Japanese ranked 22 in the world, Toriola put up a good fight as the young Asian was made to work hard for his victory against the veteran.

To exit the competition, Toriola fell 11-9, 5-11, 7-11, 11-4, 6-11, 1-11 (4-2) to the Japanese star.

Prior to his second round encounter against the Japanese, Toriola had caused an upset in the first round when he bundled out Czech Republic’s Dimitrij Prokopcov.

The 41 year-old Toriola, whose seventh Olympic Games appearance equals the table tennis record and makes him the most capped African Olympian stated after beating the Czech: “I’ve played him in the French League three times and I’ve lost every time. Today I felt confident before the match, I played without any fear. My first attack was strong and he made mistakes, the main problem for me was that I made mistakes when playing short.”

Saka Suraj Wants To Hit Round Of 16 At Olympic Games

Nigerian-born Congo-Brazzaville's table tennis player, Saka Suraju, who is one of  Africa's ageing ping- pongers, has expressed hope of making it to the last thirty- two at the table tennis event of this year's Olympic Games in Brazil.

On record, Saka Suraju is the first table tennis athlete from the Central African nation to feature at the Olympic Games when he made his debut at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in China alongside Chinese-born Yang Fen.

Again, Saka Suraju will return to the stage at Olympic Games in Brazil after making it through the African Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Sudan early this year.

In readiness for the Rio Olympic Games, Saka Suraju with teammates – Wang Jianan and Han Xing are at present honing their skills at the ultra-modern Kintele Stadium in Brazzaville under the guide of their Chinese coaches.

A confident Saka Suraju, who recently turned 40, will be making her third appearance at the Olympic Games having featured in Beijing 2008, London 2012 and now Rio 2016 believes he would want to make a meaningful impact in Brazil.

“I am happy making it to my third Olympic Games but I must admit that it was not an easy ride to Brazil. After failing to qualify at the 2015 African Games, I had to fight for one of the two slots at the African Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Sudan.

I was a bit nervous during the competition because some of the younger players were keen to be in Brazil. But despite my lack of preparation for the tournament, my experience and knowledge of the sport came to fore and I made it,” he said.

Prior to the camping exercise in Brazzaville, Saka Suraju was in Lagos for the 2014 Premier Lotto Nigeria Open but he met his waterloo in the men’s singles round of 16 against Egypt’s Khalid Assar.

“I think my coming to Lagos was part of my preparation for the Olympic Games. I wanted to assess myself against other top players.

Apart from this, playing in Lagos has been unique because of the support of the fans which I think has been the best we have ever had in Africa. The Lagos fans are just unique because their support is another motivation for the players.

They support any player regardless of his or her country and what they enjoy is good game. Even if any Nigerian is not playing well, they are willing to continue to support such player and this alone is an inspiration to the player. I was not really disappointed with my performance but I just needed to work harder for the Olympic Games,” he admitted.

Toriola, Edem Win ITTF, Africa Olympic Qualification Tournament In Sudan.

Nigeria table tennis players, Segun Toriola and Offiong Edem, have dominated the Men's and Women's singles of the 2016 International Table Tennis Federation,ITTF, Africa Olympic Qualification Tournament,in Khartoum, Sudan.

Nigeria's sensational table tennis player, Segun Toriola, has confirmed his sueremacy as a force to reckon with on the continent as he won the Men's Singles of the 2016 International Table Tennis Federation,ITTF, Africa Olympic Qualification Tournament,in Khartoum, Sudan.

Toriola, who defeated Mawussi Agbetoglo of Togo in the semi final by four straight win of 11-7, 12-10, 11-9, 11-6, outplayed Nigerian - born Congo Brazzaville ping ponger, Saka Suraju, by four set to One, 11-6, 9- 11, 11- 1, 11- 1, 11 - 9 in the final.

The feat, which pave the way for Toriola to make history by qualifying for his seventh Olympic Games at the ITTF-African Rio 2016 Qualification event held today in Khartoum, Sudan, made Toriola to join table tennis legends Jean-Michel Saive of Belgium, Jorgen Persson of Sweden and  Zoran Primorac of Croatia in an elite group of  players who have played at seven Olympic Games.

His appearance at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games will be the most by an African athlete  writing himself into African sporting history.

Offiong Edem, who has also qualified for the Olympic Games, defeated Saidani Safa of Tunisia by four straight set of 11- 6, 11- 4, 11- 4, 13- 11 to win the Women's Singles to seal her qualification for the Rio Olympic Games.

To reach the final, Edem defeated Loghraibi Lynda of Algeria by four straight set of 11-6, 11- 7, 12- 10, 11- 3 in the semi final while Saidani Safa of Tunisia outplayed Hanffou Sara by four set to three, 11-8, 1- 11, 11- 8, 5- 11, 11- 9, 9- 11, 11- 5.

To this end, Nigeria Table Tennis FederationmNTTF, has four ping pongers, Aruna Quadri, Funke Oshonaike, Segun Toriola and Offiong Edem to feature at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Aruna Quadri Starts 2016 In Good Style, Makes Top Eight At Hungarian Open

Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri began 2016 on a good note after making the top eight in the men’s singles of the ITTF World Tour tagged Hungarian Open.

The Nigerian was seeded number six among the 32 rated players for the tournament and he started his campaign from the main draw. He defeated Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro, Czech Republic’s Tomas Konecny as well as home boy, Daniel Kosiba to set up a quarterfinal clash against France’s Simon Gauzy.

A composed Quadri was in fine form against most of his opponents beating Monteiro 4-0), Konecny 4-1 and Kosiba 4-1. But he put up a good fight against the Frenchman as several unforced errors caused him a 4-2 loss to the European.

However, he combined well with his compatriot, Bode Abiodun in the men’s doubles as they fought hard from the qualifying round to make it to the main draw where they dismissed number five seed in the men’s doubles, Brazil’s Casuo Mazumoto and Thiago Monteiro 3-0 to berth in the quarterfinal.

They met their waterloo in the quarterfinal tie as they lost to Chinese Taipei’s duo of CHUANG Chih-Yuan / HUANG Sheng-Sheng to exit the tournament.

A satisfied Quadri attributed his fine form to the movement to the French league while hoping for good results at the German Open which serves off on Wednesday January 27 in Berlin.

Quadri, Toriola Confirm For ITTF Africa Top 16 Cup In Sudan

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 in the continent including a player from the host country to complete the top 16.

Toriola will join Quadri to cmpete 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 event by Edem Offiong who is at present plying her trade in the Portuguese elite league.

Having claimed three title 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).

ITTF Signs Trophy Partnership Agreement with World Sport Design

.
The International Table Tennis Federation has signed a partnership agreement with Prague-based trophy company World Sport Design.

World Sport Design, who was also the Official Trophy Supplier of the GAC Group 2015 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals, will be the Official Trophy Supplier of the ITTF from 2016 to 2018, providing trophies for the ITTF Star Awards and ITTF World Tour Grand Finals.

On the cooperation, ITTF President Mr. Thomas WEIKERT expressed: "The trophies at the 2015 Grand Finals were very well-designed, and I am certain that World Sport Design will continue to outdo themselves and produce prestigious trophies fitting the Star Awards and World Tour Grand Finals. We are looking forward to a long and successful partnership."

World Sport Design President Mr. Jiri SMIDL said: "World Sport Design specializes in creation of luxury sports trophies, medals and design sets handmade from glass, precious metals and other materials.

This is the start of a long-term cooperation with ITTF, other national federations and sport event organisers. We anticipate the opportunity to deliver our design trophies to more events, with high quality awards to represent real and lasting value for the awarded."

The race to the 2016 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals is on, as the 2016 ITTF World Tour kick starts on 20 January 2016 with the Hungarian Open

Egypt Dominates ATTF Ranking.

Egypt has proven to be the best table tennis playing nation in Africa as the nation dominated the latest African Table Tennis Federation,ATTF, ranking in the male and female categories.

Assar Omar of Egypt, tops the list with two hundred and fifty- two points ahead of Nigeria's sensational ping ponger, Aruna Quadri, who is placed second with two hundred and twenty- seven points.

Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri, ended this year as number fifty in the world while Egypt ‘s Omar Assar,Africa’s best rated ping ponger, is rated thirty- first in the world by the International Table Tennis Federation, ITTF.

The quartet of Lashin El- Sayed, Saleh Ahmed Ali, El- Beili Mohammed, Assar Kahlid of Egypt occupied the third to sixth position.

Nigeria's Olympian, Segun Toriola, settled for eight position after amassing one hundred and ten points just as Nigeria's Congo Brazzaville ping ponger, Idowu Saheed is seventh.

In the Women's cadre, Meshrif Dina, still retain the first position as she amassed two hundred and fifty- six points.

El- Dawalty Nadeen is second with two hundred and twenty- eight points while Chinese Congo Brazzzaville ping ponger, Han Xing is third.

Nigeria's female table tennis player, Funke Oshonaike and Offiong Edem, are fourth and fifth on the log.

Ma Long, Liu Shiwen Crown 2015 Male and Female Table Tennis Stars

2015 World Champion MA Long, and 2015 Women's World Cup Champion LIU Shiwen are the respective 2015 ITTF Male and Female Table Tennis Stars at the 2015 ITTF Star Awards.

The 2015 ITTF Star Awards was held on 9 December at the Patio da Gala in Lisbon, Portugal, to honor and celebrate the table tennis stars, athletes and coaches, for their achievements in 2015. Eight prestigious awards were given out on star-studded evening in the city's emblematic landmark.

The two most eyed awards of the year, the Male and Female Table Tennis Stars were determined by the 60,000 public votes from fans all around the world, combined with the judging results from an expert panel consisting of ITTF Athletes' Commission, the ITTF President, and various international media.

Hot favourite for the night, MA did not disappoint the majority of the fans who voted for him on the ITTFStarAwards.com voting page to claim the 2015 Male Table Tennis Star Awards presented by Seamaster, after becoming the 2015 World Champion and 2015 Men's World Cup Champion.

After fending off contest from compatriot FAN Zhendong, European Champion Dimitrij OVTCHAROV, and 2014 World Tour Grand Finals Champion Jun MIZUTANI, the current world number one shared "Thank you for the award and to everyone who has supported me, this award is recognition of my best ever year in 2015. This award means a lot as it's the first time I have won it and I want to win it again and again. I will continue to work hard and success next year."

The Female Table Tennis Star Awards presented by Nittaku saw hot contest between DING Ning (CHN), Kasumi ISHIKAWA (CHN), LIU Shiwen (CHN), and Petrissa SOLJA (GER). It was LIU who secured the most votes to take home the prestigious award with her.

The four time Women's World Cup title holder stated: "It is a great honour to receive this award; my thanks to the ITTF and everyone who has supported me. This award is a very special way to finish 2015 and I hope for even more success in the Olympic year next year."

The 'Point of the Century' played by FANG Bo and MA Long at the Qoros 2015 World Championships Men's Singles final that generated over 2 million views on YouTube, was also named the 2015 Table Tennis Star Point presented by DHS.

The Male and Female Table Tennis Stars for the Para Table Tennis category went to Indonesia's Class 9 player David Jacobs and Serbia's Borislava PERIC-RANKOVIC (Class 3) respectively for their achievements in the 2015 Continental Para Championships and Para events around the world.

With the spectacular results posted by the Chinese team in 2015, the Head Coach LIU Guoliang was the natural winner for the Star Coach of the year presented by Butterfly.

New to the 2015 ITTF Star Awards, a Breakthrough Star award presented by TMS International was given out to Japan's 15-year-old sensation Mima ITO. ITO was not only the youngest ever winner of an ITTF World Tour event, but also made it to the Japanese Olympic team line up for Rio 2016 Olympic Games at a young age of 14.

In addition, a Fair Play Star award was handed out to Linor CITAKU and Vlona MALOKU from Kosovo for their act of fair play at the Qoros 2015 World Championships. The pair lent their spare rackets to their opponents in the first round of the mixed doubles competition who failed their racket testing, to ensure that the match continued.

Toriola, Quadri Lead Team Nigeria To Relies ITTF Africa Senior Cup In Cameroon.

Six-time Olympian, Segun Toriola and 2014 ITTF Star Player, Aruna Quadri will spearhead Nigeria’s quest for the title at the 2015 ITTF Africa Senior Cup holding in Yaounde, Cameroon.
 
The tournament serves as qualifiers for the ITTF Men and Women World Cups holding later in the year.

The three-day championship which serves off on Tuesday July 21 to 23 would be followed by ITTF Africa Club Championship involving teams from the continent.

At the ITTF Africa Senior Cup, two players are expected to represent each country in the men and women singles with Egypt’s El-Sayed Lashin and Han Xing as defending champions.

The winners in the men and women singles events will represent Africa at the ITTF World Cups.

According to Toriola, Nigeria has what it takes to clinch the title as Egypt and Congo Brazzaville are under pressure to perform beyond expectations.

“I saw the Egyptian and Congolese teams in China and they are really preparing well. I was aware that the Congolese team has been in China since last year because they are the host of the All Africa Games and they want to perform well.

Also, I met the Egyptians who are also eager to know who will be representing Nigeria at the tournament. But with what I saw I know the Congolese and the Egyptian teams will be under
pressure to perform well. But as for Nigeria, we will not be playing under pressure as everybody is relaxed,” he said.

Toriola believes taking part in the competition would afford him the opportunity to know his present form ahead of the All Africa Games.

“I have short preparation for the event because I started practice this week and with my experience I am sure I will still play very well.

My focus is not on the title because anything can happen in table tennis but I know my experience as former champion will be helpful in Cameroon,” he admitted.

The 2002 Commonwealth Games champion tips Nigeria to excel, “As for Nigeria, I think Nigeria is the favourite for this tournament,” he said.

Ayobami Animasahun Clinches Second Position In ITTF Hopes Challenge

Nigeria’s Abayomi Animasahun has recorded a remarkable feat at the International Table Tennis Federation,ITTF, Hopes Challenge, as he again made Nigeria proud in far in Shanghai, China when he defied all odds to finish second in the boys’ singles.

Animasahun, who has continued to compliment his feat at his first international competition at the Egypt Junior Open in June when he won the Under 12 boys’ singles while he also finished among the top eight at the China Junior Open last week was the toast of ITTF officials who described the Ekiti State-born player as Africa’s prospect in the sport.


From the group stage, Animasahun made nonsense of some of the highly-rated players from Netherlands and Thailand to settle for second place having lost to United States’ Nikhil Kumar in one of the three matches in the preliminary round. But for placing second, he joined the American boy to qualify for the semifinal stage.

In the quarter final match, he continued his fine-form when he overcame New Zealand’s Nathan Xu 8-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-5) to set up a semifinal tie against Belgium’s Adrian Rassefosse which he won. He finally set up a rematch against the American boy who had earlier defeated him in the group stage.

However, what befell Animasahun happened again in the final match as the American won the match at 11-8, 11-6, 11-6 to be crowned the boys’ champion.

But the performance of the young Nigerian attracted accolades from ITTF Education and Training Coordinator, Dejan Papic.

Animasahun attracted a lot of attention, first he managed to outlast Nathan Xu of New Zealandin long top spin exchanges.

The surprise victory made him hot, he moved better in the semifinal against Belgium’s Adrian
Rassefosse and played with increased confidence. But in final, he ran out of steam and American Kumar played better in each game.

It seemed the fact that Kumar being a left hander was one of the deciding
factors,” Papic said.

In the girls’ singles, it was Egypt’s Sara Elhakem emerged winner after beating Germany’s Sophie Kee in the final.

Animasahun’s compatriot, Muibat Bello failed to make it to the podium having finished in the eighth among the 16 players that competed in the event.

Nigeria Finishes Second At ITTF WJC In Egypt.

With four gold medals and three bronze medals Nigeria finished second behind host – Egypt at the ITTF World Junior Circuit (WJC) in Egypt.

Host and winner, finished ahead of others with seven gold while Slovenia won three gold medals to settle for third spot on the medal table.

Over 15 countries from Africa, Europe and Asia took part in the one-week championship held at the 6th October Hall in Cairo.

Nigeria made the second spot on the final day of the championship with Esther Oribamise, Abayomi Animasahun and Amadi Omeh claiming gold in the cadet and mini cadet event.

Animasahun defeated Egypt’s Yehia Saad 3-0 in the mini cadet boys’ singles final, while Amadi Omeh increased the gold to two when he also accounted for the 3-0 defeat of Egypt’s Marwan Abdelwahab  in the cadet boys’ singles final.

The star player for Nigeria was Oribamise who had earlier failed to excel in the junior girls’ event but had to measure up in the cadet girls’ singles when she beat Egypt’s Rolan Hesham 3-0 to clinch the third gold for the West African giant.

In the cadet girls’ doubles, Oribamise partnered Tunisia’s Fadwa Garci to beat Egypt’s Roa Amro and Farida Badawy 3-0 to add to her medal haul in Cairo.

An elated Animasahun said: “I give God all the glory for been able to achieve this in my first international appearance. I listened to my coaches and I ensured I followed them and this is one of the reasons I was able to win medal in Egypt.

I am so happy for this medal. It was not easy at all during the five-day tournament. The competition gets much difficult as it progresses from one level to another, but I am happy that I achieved something.”

Oribamise however said: “I did not believe I could salvage anything in this competition because I was hopeless after a poor showing in the junior girls’ events.

I did not also believe that it will end up in my favour in the cadet event. I thank God for my medals because it is through Him I was able to achieve this. I tried all through the competition to give a good account of myself because many people were looking out for me,'' she said.

Nigerian Teenagers For ITTF Hopes Week In China

The duo of  Abayomi Animasahun and Muibat Bello have been named as Nigeria’s representatives at the
ITTF Hopes Week holding in Shanghai, China later this month.

This is as a result of their rising profiles that have made them benefit from various initiatives put together by the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF).

Also two of Nigeria’s greatest players, Segun Toriola and Funke Oshonaike will accompany the players to the training exercise.

An elated Animasahun who is taking part in the ITTF WJC in Egypt  cannot hide his excitement about the trip said, “I am glad that I will be heading to China for the Hopes Week meet too. I am happy at this
opportunity given to me by NTTF to meet the best young players like me from around the world”.

 “I have overcome my fears of challenging the white skinned players. I  used to think that I could not play against them. The Egypt Junior and  Cadet Open has helped me to improve my confidence level and this will
boast my chances in China,’’ he added.

In the mini-cadet event that Animasahun is campaigning in Egypt, he said: “I am targeting a gold medal in the singles, irrespective of players i am going to play against in the competition.”

Not knowing what lies ahead of them in China and like Animasahun, Muibat Bello is targeting the title in the competition aspect of the Hopes Week. I am eyeing a gold medal in the girls' singles and i will ensure I do my best. I know it will be a tough one because of what I have heard and read about the Chinese players. I am going to watch out for them,'' she said.

On the choice of Animasahun and Bello, NTTF President, Wahid Oshodi  said: “They have been maintaining superb performances at national level  and we will continue to assist them to improve their skills. And of
course they need to attend more tournaments of this nature as we need to  expose our young players promptly to the rigours of world-class  tournaments’ style of play,” he added.

The ITTF Hopes Week holds in Shanghai, China from June 23 to July 5.

ITTF Egypt Junior Open: Nigeria Teams Hit Semi final

Nigeria’s teenager sensations, Abayomi Animasahun and Michael Obayomi showed their stuff at the ongoing ITTF World Junior Circuit tagged Egypt Junior and Cadet Open after defeating the combination of Egypt and Tunisia 3-1 to qualify for the semifinal of the cadet boys’ team event.

It was Obayomi who started the rout with 11-6, 11-9, 12-10 win over Egypt’s Marwan Nader but Animasahun could not increase the tally after he fell to Tunisia’s Youssef Ben Attia 7-11, 15-13, 10-12, 11-9, 11-8 to put the match at 1-1.

In the doubles’ match, the pair of Obayomi and Animasahun combined very well to restore Nigeria’s lead with 4-11, 8-11, 7-11 win over the duo of Egypt’s Nader and Tunisia’s Ben Attia.

To cement Nigeria’s victory, Animasahun got his rhythm against Egypt’s Nader with 11-0, 12-10, 9-11, 8-11, 5-11 victory to give Nigeria a 3-1 win over the North Africans.

 In the first semifinal tie, the Nigerians will battle for a place in the final against Egypt Team A.

In the junior boys match, Nigeria will battle Egypt Team A for a place in the final while the girls’ team will also confront Egypt Team A in the semi final.