Record Entry Trails WTT Contenders in Lagos

No fewer than 25 countries including Nigeria will participate at the first WTT Contender Series in sub-Saharan Africa which will hold in Lagos from 12th-18th June 2023 at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos.

More importantly, $75,000 prize money will be up for grab among 150 top players that have been confirmed to participate in the tournament and battle for ranking points towards qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympics Games.

At a crowded press conference yesterday evening, Barrister Wahid Enitan Oshodi confirmed that Korea Republic, Germany, Slovenia, Chinese Taipei, India, China, Egypt, Slovakia, Poland, Portugal, Denmark, Ukraine, Algeria, Belgium, Italy, France, England, Côte d’Ivoire, Serbia, Ghana, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Wales, Sweden and Nigeria will take part in the tournament.

“The fans should expect a fantastic tournament, great things to look forward to as some of the best players in the world, different styles and Dmitri Ocherov, former world number one. When a non-Chinese player becomes number one in table tennis, you know how good he is. Five of the top 20 players in the world.

“Sadly, Aruna Quadri had to pull out of the tournament but this gives other players a chance to make the breakthrough with the support of the Lagos fans. “There’s big prize money relative to table tennis and players have to challenging for that and the players start arriving over the weekend. It’s going to be tough and like we say here ‘fire for fire” he explained.

In his remarks, Executive Chairman, Lagos State Sports Commission, Sola Aiyepeku, said the centre of excellence will continue to raise the profile for the sport while pledging the commitment of the Lagos State Government towards an exciting and hitch-free tournament.