After a not-too-impressive outing at the just concluded ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships (WTTTC), African table tennis heavyweights Nigeria, Egypt, and other continental contenders have now shifted focus to the forthcoming African Games taking place in Ghana.

For the 13th African Games, table tennis is one of the sports that will kick-start the games before the official opening on March 8.

Omar Assar of Egypt and Quadri Aruna of Nigeria are expected to begin their hunt for medals in the singles event.

A statement by ITTF on Sunday showed that seven titles will be at stake in Ghana in the table tennis event. Egypt, who claimed most of the medals at the 2019 edition in Morocco, will be hoping to dominate again in Ghana.

According to the African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF), the event will begin with singles, followed by team and doubles events, as most of the continent’s top players will head to the WTT Singapore Smash from March 8 to 17.

It also added that this becomes necessary to allow the players to garner points for their eventual qualification to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in France.

Meanwhile, WTT has confirmed Aruna and Egypt’s quartet of Assar, Ahmed Saleh, Dina Meshref, and Hana Goda among the top players starting their campaigns from the main draws on March 10.

The players that will kick-start their campaigns from the qualifying round include Egypt’s duo of Mariam Alhodaby and Yousra Helmy, Cameroon’s Sarah Hanffou, Nigeria’s Fatimo Bello and Algeria’s Lynda Loghraibi in the women’s singles.

In the men’s singles, Egypt’s Mohamed El-Beiali, Senegal’s Ibrahima Diaw, Algeria’s Mehdi Bouloussa and Nigeria’s duo of Taiwo Mati and Olajide Omotayo will also begin their quest for glory from the qualifying round of the $1.5 million prize money tournament.

The OCBC Arena Singapore will host Singapore Smash 2024 as the Lion City is set to host a star-studded ensemble of the world’s finest paddlers at Singapore Sports Hub, promising an exhilarating experience for fans locally and worldwide

For 2024, the spotlight will be on 2023 champions China’s Zhendong Fan and Sun Yingsha, both on a mission to defend their respective Men’s and Women’s Singles titles.

Fan, boasting an impeccable singles record at the event, aims for a Singapore Smash three-peat.

His quest faces stiff competition from World No.2 Wang Chuqin, the reigning WTT Finals Men’s champion and the legendary Ma Long, determined to secure his first Singapore Smash title after consecutive runner-up finishes.

The qualifying round takes place over March 7 to March 9, leading into the main draw starting on Sunday, March 10. 

(NAN)