Nigeria wins African Paralympic Championships

Nigeria clinched the champion title at the 2023 ITTF African Para Championships, which concluded this weekend in Giza, Egypt.

This three-day competition brought together athletes from Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria, Mauritius, Cameroon, South Africa, Kenya and Ivory Coast, who participated in the singles, doubles and mixed doubles events.

The Nigerian team particularly distinguished itself by winning 12 gold medals, which allowed it to dethrone Egypt as the new power of para table tennis in Africa. The Nigerians showed their dominance in the singles event, securing the majority of qualifying places for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

Of the 14 qualifying places at stake, Nigeria claimed nine, while Egypt settled for five in the singles events. However, the host team shone in the doubles and mixed doubles events winning five gold medals compared to two for the Nigerians.

12 gold medals for Nigeria

In the overall medal standings, Nigeria won 12 gold charms while Egypt won 10, thereby relinquishing its dominance to the West African nation. The President of the African Table Tennis Federation, Khaled El-Salhy, congratulated all the participating teams and described the tournament as a success, especially thanks to the facilities and hospitality provided by the Egyptian Table Tennis Federation.

“I’m so happy that we have an improvement in participation this year, especially with the number of countries that participated in this year’s tournament. The players gave a good image of themselves; they showed their quality judging by the matches. I congratulate the ETTF and the Egyptian government for being good hosts and I hope our players will make the continent proud” , did he declare.