ITTF Confirms Nigeria, 26 Others for World Junior Championships

The world table tennis ruling body (ITTF) has confirmed Nigeria and 26 others for this year’s World Junior Championships holding in Cape Town, South Africa.

In the list of participating countries released by ITTF, Nigeria, Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria including host – South Africa would represent Africa at the eight-day championships. The tournament is scheduled to hold between November 30 and December 7,

Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt will present boys’ and girls’ teams, while Tunisia will have her boys’ team along with Algeria representing the continent in the girls’ team for the competition.
Nigeria’s qualification was made possible following the sterling performance of her players at the last African Junior Championships held in Algiers, where the team finished second behind Egypt in the team event.

At the World Junior Championship, Nigeria will compete for laurels in the team, doubles and singles events.

Meanwhile, the Tournament Director of the championship, Joe Carrim, has said that everything have been put in place to make the competition exciting for teams.

The Grand West Casino and Entertainment World will host the eight-day championship. The venue is the largest entertainment destination of its kind in South Africa. It is the only casino in Cape Town. It is a wonderland of around-the-clock entertainment, with all the thrills and excitement of a Las Vegas-scale casino.

It is a family-friendly destination that offers the biggest selection of kids’ entertainment and fun activities in Cape Town, from ice-skating to ten-pin bowling all under one roof.

Explaining the readiness for the championship, Joe Carrim said: “The venue is ideal for the Sun International 2016 ITTF World Junior Table Tennis Championship. All venues related equipment is in place and we await delivery of the floor tables and balls. The promotional programme gas taken off with weekly radio interviews by players and local organisers in the city of Cape Town.”
He added: “The GrandWest Casino and entertainment provides a host of entertainment programmes and frequented by young and old. We expect the profile of our sport and our organisation to lift in the eyes of the public and government alike so that we work towards the establishment of a national semi professional circuit sponsored by the private sector.”

Already, 96 boys and 96 girls have been listed to slug it out in the individual events of the competition.