The Nation Newspaper

Tag: WTT

  • WTT Contender Lagos: Top stars  begin hunt for points, top prize

    WTT Contender Lagos: Top stars  begin hunt for points, top prize

    With the two-day qualifying rounds concluded, the main draw of the 2025 WTT Contender Lagos kicks off  today, July 24, at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall, Teslim Balogun Stadium, where top seeds will begin their quest for world ranking points and the tournament’s top prize.

    While international stars are eyeing the title, the absence of Nigerian legend Quadri Aruna opens the door for local talents like Olajide Omotayo, Matthew Kuti, Abdulbasit Abdulfatai, and Taiwo Mati to make a strong impression.

    Tunisia’s Wassim Essid and Cameroon’s Ylane Batix are also among the contenders hoping for a breakthrough performance in Lagos—the second WTT Contender event hosted in Africa.

    Read Also: Chelsea’s Adarabioyo meets Sanwo-Olu ahead youth cup in Lagos

    In the Women’s Singles, defending champion Sreeja Akula of India faces a tough field, including top seed Hina Hayata and Honoka Hashimoto of Japan, Egypt’s rising star Hana Goda, and France’s Prithika Pavade.

    “I won the Women’s Singles title last year, and I’m aiming for another this year,” said Akula. “The competition is much stronger, but I just want to give my best and enjoy the tournament.”

    Also drawing attention is John Oyebode, who represents Italy but has Nigerian roots. The son of former Nigerian international Michael Oyebode, John, is eager to make his mark on home soil.

    “What makes WTT Contender Lagos unique is the massive support from the fans, regardless of where the players come from. They love the sport, and that’s a big motivation. Nigeria is home to me, and I want to enjoy myself by giving my best against the best,” he said.

    Meanwhile, 2024 Men’s Doubles runners-up Olajide Omotayo and Azeez Solanke are back with renewed determination to go one step further this year.

  • Heavyweights show class  at WTT Contender Lagos

    Heavyweights show class  at WTT Contender Lagos

    The 2024 WTT Contender Lagos witnessed impressive performances from top-seed players as they navigated the first round of the singles event at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium.

    German Dimitrij Ovtcharov, the number one seed, faced a tough challenge from South Korea’s Kim Minwoo but emerged victorious with a 3-0 win (12-10, 11-3, 11-6), securing his spot in the second round.

    Indian legend Sharath Achanta also had a successful start, defeating Ghana’s Godwin Alabi 3-0 (11-6, 11-5, 11-7).

    In the women’s singles, defending champion Shin Yubin displayed her usual brilliance, defeating Indian player Archana Kamath 3-0 (15-13, 11-7, 11-4).

    Other Indian female players, including Manika Batra, progressed to the second round after dominant performances.

    Read Also: EPL: Cooper appointed Leicester manager

    Nigerian players Fatimo Bello and Offiong Edem faced off, with the younger Bello prevailing 3-2 (11-6, 11-13, 9-11, 11-9, 11-5) despite Edem’s higher rating.

    “It’s good to be in Lagos. This is just the beginning but a good one for me. I’m willing to do more and put in my best. Defeating Edem is a good one for me. She’s one of my senior players, and I believe it would put me in more form to do better in the next game,” an excited Bello said.

    The Chinese duo of Yijie Ding and Zixuan Yao also advanced to the next stage of the competition.

    Exciting matches await as the tournament continues in Lagos.

  • Commonwealth champion Achanta  leads India to WTT Contender Lagos

    Commonwealth champion Achanta  leads India to WTT Contender Lagos

    Birmingham  2022 Commonwealth Games champion Sharath Achanta will lead a strong Indian contingent to the 2024 WTT Contender Lagos holding place at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium.

    The 41-year-old is the first Indian table tennis player ever to become a 10-time Indian national champion hence breaking the record of eight-time national champion Kamlesh Mehta.

    Considered one of the most flamboyant Indian athletes, Achanta is eagerly looking forward to the tournament as part of their preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

    The highest-ranked Indian male player in the world rated 40th  was in 2019 awarded the Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian award while in 2022, he was awarded the Khel Ratna Award, India’s highest sporting honour will be joined on the Lagos trip by 2023 WTT Contender Lagos semifinalist Harmeet Desai as well as Manav Thakkar and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran in the men’s singles.

    The women’s squad will be spearheaded by long-pimple Manika Batra, the top female table tennis player in India and ranked 24 in the world and she will also have her compatriot,

    Read Also: WTT Contender Lagos: Brazilian Calderano sends warning signals to Aruna, others

    Sreeja Akula is also an integral member of the Indian team that qualified for the Olympic games at the 2024 World Team Championships in Busan, South Korea. Akula, who is a familiar face in Lagos will have compatriots like Yashaswini Ghorpade, Archana Kamath, and Sutirtha Mukherjee heading to the commercial nerve centre for a podium finish.

    It is all about the title defence for South Korean Shin Yubin, having topped the podium in 2023, Yubin spearheads the lineup in this year’s edition.

    Lagos was one of two WTT Series wins for World No. 7 in 2023, and with her 2024 account currently empty, history repeating in Nigeria will be just what the Korean is yearning for but India’s Batra could pose the biggest threat to Yubin’s title defence in Lagos.

    The WTT Contender Lagos 2024 offers up a total prize pool of $80,000 as well as 400 ITTF Table Tennis World Ranking Points for the champions.

  • Omotayo, Mati crash out of WTT Feeder in Portugal

    Omotayo, Mati crash out of WTT Feeder in Portugal

    Olajide Omotayo and Taiwo Mati yesterday crashed out  of the men’s singles after losing their first round matches at the WTT Feeder Vila Nova de Gaia taking place in Portugal.

     Mati first tasted defeat in the hand of Portuguese international Tiago Apolonia as the experienced European taught the Nigerian some lessons with a 3-0 (11-7, 11-2, 11-5).

    But Omotayo put up a fight against Swedish southpaw Kristian Karlsson after the European star won the first game 11-7. Omotayo restored parity when he won the second game at 13-11. But several unforced errors cost Omotayo  the next two games as he fell 6-11, 5-11 to concede a 3-1 defeat to exit the tournament.

    Read Also: WTT Feeder: Omotayo, Mati  face Portugal, Sweden opponents

    Aside from the exit of Omotayo and Mati, Africa’s hope in the women’s singles, Dina Meshref who is the tournament top seed was shut out of the tournament after she fell 3-2 to Serbia’s Lea Rakovac to end her stay in Portugal.

    Congo Brazzaville’s Saheed Idowu also fell 3-1 (13-11, 6-11, 7-11, 11-13) to Italy’s Daniele Pinto.

    The only surviving African that progressed to the second round is Algeria’s Mehdi Bouloussa who defeated Portugal’s Diogo Chen 3-1 to set up a second clash against Liu Dingshuo of China.

    Homeboy Marcos Freitas, who is aiming to pick the final slot for the WTT Cup Finals began his campaign on a bright note as the 35-year-old stalwart is the standout name at the top of the Men’s Singles draw in search of his second WTT title of the year, three and a half months on from doing the business at WTT Contender Lima.

  • Omotayo, Mati battle for ranking points at WTT Feeder in Portugal

    Omotayo, Mati battle for ranking points at WTT Feeder in Portugal

    Olajide Omotayo and Taiwo Mati will slug it out with other top stars at the WTT Feeder Vila Nova de Gaia taking place in Portugal from today November 22 to 25 in their bid to shore up rankings ahead of next year’s Olympic Games qualifiers.

    Omotayo who was a semifinalist in the men’s singles at the 2023 African Championships has not featured in any WTT Series since September and he hopes to use this tournament to reclaim his second place in the national team having dropped 110 in the world rating despite gaining more points with his semifinal finish in Tunis.

    The 2019 African Games champion is eyeing a return to the Olympic Games after his maiden outing at  Tokyo 2020. But he will need to end the year on a high to secure his spot in the two-man team that will represent Nigeria at the continental qualifiers taking place in Rwanda come May 2024.

    Also, Mati who was not too impressive in Tunis is listed among the players that will start their campaign from the main draw of the men’s singles.

    Read Also: Aruna confirmed for 2023 WTT Finals in Doha

    Ranked second behind Quadri Aruna in Nigeria and rated 99th in the world, the Portugal-based southpaw will be hoping to re-enact his 2023 World Champions form where he defeated some of the top ranked players to make it to the third round of the men’s singles in his maiden outing.

    Omotayo and Mati are aiming to join Aruna as the Nigeria’s number two at the continental qualifiers next year while their performance will determine their place in the two-man team.

    African stars like Mehdi Bouloussa of Algeria and Saheed Idowu of Congo Brazzaville will also be competing in Portugal for points as most of the top players that could not feature in WTT Series in the last three months will be using the tournament to garner ranking points ahead of the qualifiers for the Olympic Games in 2024.