Egypt swept up the tickets at stake for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after beating Nigeria in the final of the team event at the 2023 ITTF African Championships taking place in Tunis, Tunisia.
The Egyptian ladies were the first to pick their ticket as they handed out a 3-0 defeat to Nigeria in the final.
From the start of the tournament Nigeria and Egypt remained unbeaten as they maintained their 100 per cent record without dropping any set.
But in the final, it was the Egyptians who dominated with Dina Meshref, Hana Goda and Marwa Alhodaby beating the trio of Fatimo Bello, Offiong Edem and Olufunke Oshonaike.
The one-sided encounter once again witnessed the dominance of Egypt in the continent as the North Africans qualified for their third consecutive Olympic Games at the expense of Nigeria.
An elated Goda said she was happy that they claimed the sole ticket while hoping that the Egyptian team would claim more medals at the continental showpiece.
The men’s final was well contested by Egypt and Nigeria but the Egyptians came out victorious with a 3-1 win.
With the conclusion of the team competition, all eyes are now fixed on the mixed doubles event where another Olympics ticket is at stake.
Meanwhile, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) and African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF) have commended the Tunisia Table Tennis Federation (TTTF) for the excellent job they have done hosting the ongoing 26th ITTF African Championships.
The global and continental bodies showered the accolades on the TTTF at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the ATTF held on Thursday, September 14, 2023 in Tunis, Tunisia.
The TTTF was adjudged the most active member association in 2022 for its superb staging of several ITTF and WTT tournaments coupled with the performance of Tunisian players in global competitions.
Speaking on behalf of the ITTF, Executive Vice President of the world table tennis ruling body, Prof. Alaa Meshref, declared: “We are impressed with what Tunisia has put up in staging the African Championships. Their professionalism coupled with organisation has made the tournament one of the best to be staged this year.
“There is no doubt that Tunisia has gained from their experience of hosting several WTT events in the last two years and this is manifesting in their performance in hosting this tournament. The quality of organisation has raised hope for Africa to host top-level tournaments. Coming from the success of the World Championships in Durban, South Africa, Tunisia has shown that this kind of organisation would serve as a catalyst for Africa to be considered as a good host in future events.”
Similarly, ATTF President, Khaled El-Salhy was full of appreciation to the Tunisians for their warm reception and a hitch-free tournament.
El-Salhy urged other African nations to take a cue from the Lotfi Guerfel-led TTTF in terms of staging world-class competitions.
