Nigeria as host will lead 14 other African countries to the second edition of the ITTF Africa Western Region Challenge scheduled to hold from November 1 to 4 in Lagos.
The tournament which serves as regional ranking will have Nigeria staking its pedigree in the region against teams like Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Benin Republic, Senegal, Togo, Gambia, Liberia, Gambia, Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea Bissau, Niger Republic, and Sierra Leone.
According to the Regional Vice President ITTF AFRICA West, Ferdinand Sounou, the tournament is the first regional competition to be staged amid the COVID-19 pandemic .
Sounou, who is also the President of Benin Table Tennis Federation said: “I think this regional tournament has come well in order to liven up the region a little because, in 2019, Lagos should have organised until it was moved to Abidjan. This is just the first regional tournament after my election last June and it is normal that we start the activities of the region from Nigeria which is a great table tennis nation within the region.”
For the chairman of the Local Organising Committee (LOC), Wahid Enitan Oshodi, it would afford the players from the region to test themselves against one another while all eyes will be on Oba Kizito of Cote d’Ivoire and Fatimo Bello of Nigeria, who are the defending champions in singles events.