Nigeria’s contingent showed itself as a powerhouse in West Africa after dominating all the events at the just concluded ITTF West Africa Regional Championships held in Accra, Ghana.
The four-day tournament has teams from Benin Republic, Togo, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and host Ghana competing in the team and singles events.
Again, Nigeria showed its supremacy in the region after retaining the men and women team events at the expense of Benin Republic and Ghana.
Fatimo Bello of Nigeria set a new record after claiming the fourth women’s singles title to retain the laurel ahead of her compatriot Ajoke Ojomu in the explosive final.
By winning the title, Bello has become the first player to win the singles title four times in a row.
Also in the men’s singles, Amadi Umeh of Nigeria defeated former champion Oba Oba Kizito of Côte d’Ivoire in a one-sided final.
It was with ease that Umeh beat the 2019 champion 4-0 (11-6, 11-8, 15-13, 11-8) to emerge as the new men’s singles champion.
Bello had earlier guided Nigeria women’s team to victory in the women’s team final against host – Ghana to retain their title.
Umeh also spearheaded Nigeria’s dominance in the men’s team event with a convincing 3-0 win over Benin Republic in the final.
Host – Ghana managed to claim silver and bronze in the team event, while Benin Republic, Cote d’Ivoire also made it to the podium at the tournament.
The participants also lauded the organisers of the championships, Ghana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) for being a good host while hoping that the West African nation would host a major continental tournament.
