As the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth enters day three on Friday, Nigeria’s table tennis teams on Thursday began their campaign in the team event on a good note with the men and women team recording an emphatic victory over their opponents.
The women began their road to the podium early on Thursday when the trio of Edem Offiong, Ganiat and Rashidat Ogundele overcame their Kenya counterparts in a one-sided encounter with the Nigerians recording a 3-0 win.
Also, the men’s team led by veteran Segun Toriola as well as current African champion, Aruna Quadri and Ojo Onaolapo walloped Bangladesh 3-0 in their first group D match.
Also, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has seeded Nigeria male team as the number seed in the team event.
Defending champion, Singapore is rated number one, while England is two with India occupying the third spot in the rating.
According to ITTF Publication Director, Ian Marshall, Singapore occupies the top seeded position in both the Men’s Team and Women’s Team events.
The Asia giant has the top rated players like Clarence Chew, Gao Ning, Li Hu, Yang Zi and Zhan Jian which formed the powerful Men’s Team; whilst Feng Tianwei joins forces with Isabelle Siyun Li, Lin Ye, Yu Mengyu and Zhou Yihan competed the Women’s line-up.
Li Jiawei, Wang Yuegu and Sun Beibei, who played major roles in Singaporean success, not only at the Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth Championships but also in the World Championships and Olympic arena, have now retired from the international scene.
Yu Mengyu, who reached the penultimate round of the Women’s Singles events earlier this year on the GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour in both Korea and Japan plays, now assumes a greater responsibility than in New Delhi when she was very much in the supporting role.
The selection for the third spot is intriguing; Isabelle Siyun Li received the nod at the recent ZEN-HON 2014 World Team Championships, an event for which Lin Ye and Zhou Yihan were not eligible.
