The draws for the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Tour, Lagos Open hold today, Monday March 9, as 12-man Egyptian contingent arrive in Lagos.
According to the tournament director, Olaranti Lajide, the all players and teams are expected to be present at the draw holding at the Teslim Balogun Stadium with the matches in the preliminary expected to serve off on Tuesday Match 10.
“The appointed official from ITTF have all arrives on Sunday for the event as there will be short briefing for all the officiating officials and this will be followed by the draw and this will determine how the matches will be played from the preliminary stage. Unlike in the previous editions, where players compete in four events, this year, six events – singles (men and women), doubles (men and women) and U-21 singles (boys and girls) will be jostled for at the five-day tournament with a prize money of $46,000,” he said.
Lajide also disclosed that all the participating teams and players are expected to arrive on Monday while the Egyptian team led by Omar Assar will also arrive in Lagos as well. “Some of the European players have arrived and we are expecting everybody in Lagos latest by Monday,” he added.
He however, said that the format of the tournament is knockout as players are expected to give their best to make it to the main draw where some players have been seeded.
Meanwhile, Portugal’s Silva Diogo believes his first visit to Africa would be an exciting experience as he set a semifinal target for himself.
Diogo, teammate of Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri with GD Toledos in the Portuguese elite league, will partner compatriot, Andre Silva in the men’s doubles believes his maiden visit to Africa would bring good tidings.
“This is my first time in Africa and I am very excited coming to Nigeria to play in the Lagos ITTF World Tour. My expectations for the tournament are to play my best table tennis and try to enjoy to the maximum. I really believe that if I surely play my best, I will achieve good results,” he said.
Following the quality of the players, a sincere Diogo said he would not chew more than he can bite by setting a semifinal target for himself.
“My target in Lagos is to reach semifinal in men’s singles but I know that it will depend on the draw because I don’t have ranking and I can be drawn against some of the seeded players from the first round. In the doubles’ event, I believe my partnership with Silva has the wherewithal to win the competition,” the southpaw Portuguese star said.
He added: “In my opinion, the best players in this competition are Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna and Egypt’s Omar Assar, but there are more tough players for me like Egypt’s Khalid Assar among others.”