Despite the lack of support from the country they represent and inspired by the hard-earned money they used to sponsor themselves to the 2015 ITTF World Championships in China, Nigerian players began their campaigns in the singles events on bright note.
The presence of the President, Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF), Wahid Oshodi in Suzhou may have spurred the trio of segun Toriola, Kazeem Makanjuola and Olufunke Oshonaike to give their best against their opponents in the group matches of the tournament, which has over 100 countries competing in five events at the global championships.
It was Makanjuola who opened the doors for others to follow as he wasted no time in dismissing Maldives’ Moosa Ahmed 11-2, 11-9, 15-13, 11-8 in the first group match. Toriola, who is still a delight to watch for all at the Suzhou International Expo Centre took a cue from Makanjuola when he ran riot over Algeria’s Aissa Belkadi with 11-7, 11-5, 11-3, 11-7 win.
However, Oshonaike proved that experience is still relevant as she beat Costa Rica’s Cynthia Martinez 4-0 as well as pummeling Mexico’s MADRID Mercedes with same margin to put herself in stable position to make it to the main draw.
With her last game holding on Monday April 27 against Tunisia’s SAIDANI Safa to decide the only player in the group that will progress from the group.
Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri who is the second seeded African players in the main draw will begin his campaign on Tuesday April 28 against qualifier from the group.
Meanwhile, Egyptian players also recorded victories in their matches with Mohammed El-Beiali and Khalid Assar winning their group matches, while Omar Assar will also compete from the main draw on Tuesday.
