For muting the initiative to stage the maiden Valuejet Para Table Tennis Open, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has hailed Nigeria, while hoping that other African countries would take a cue from this.
According to ITTF Classifier, El-Sayed Mehrem, the idea of hosting the international tournament is commendable as few countries in Africa have been able to stage a successful tournament.
“I’m impressed with what I have seen, so far, in Nigeria, particularly the hospitality of the people. I believe Nigeria has the potential to rule the world in para table tennis considering its rising profile in Africa. I must congratulate Nigeria and the organisers for making this a reality because I’ve been impressed with the organisation, so far, and I hope this tournament has come to stay. We hope and believe it can make it to the calendar of ITTF in years to come,” the Egyptian expert said.
For the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF), the tournament is another efforts by the board to make the federation encompassing for all athletes.
The President of NTTF, Ishaku Tikon, who was represented by the Head of Para Section of the federation, Elderson Bankole, the idea of the tournament was to ensure that the para players tune up before the Tokyo 2020, as four of them had already qualified for the games in Japan.