Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Enoh, has congratulated Team Nigeria athletes for making the country proud at the 2023 ITTF Africa Senior Table Tennis Championships, held in Tunis, Tunisia.
Africa’s number 1 table tennis player, Aruna Quadri won Gold for Nigeria in the men’s singles after defeating familiar foe, Ahmed Saleh of Egypt by 4-0 (11-2, 12-10, 11-6, 11-6) in the final match played in Tunis.
Aruna however made a lightwork of the Egyptian to win his third continental title. He won the second title last year in Algeria with a 4-3 nerve-wracking win against Egypt’s Omar Assar.
In the Women’s Doubles event, Nigeria’s duo of Funke Oshonaike and Fatimo Bello combined their experience and youthful energy to overpower Cameroon’s Sarah Hanffou and Egypt’s Marwa Alhodaby 3-2 (11-8, 8-11, 11-4, 7-11, 12-10), as the Nigerians clinched gold in the pulsating final.
The Minister said “On behalf of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and all Nigerians, I heartily congratulate these incredible athletes for bringing glory to the country in far away Tunisia. Defeating all-comers on the continent, in a foreign soil takes resilience, hard work, strength, and discipline. While the path to success has not been easy, their sense of patriotism remained unwavering.”
He also congratulated Olajide Omotayo and Idowu Saheed who both lost in the men’s singles semi-finals, urging them to take pride in their outings and reflect on their performances.
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