Bello dreams upset at 2022 ITTF World Championships

Fatimo Bello

As Nigeria, Ghana set for 2023 ITTF Western Region qualifiers

Two-Time regional champion, Fatimo Bello, has said she hopes to do well at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Championships holding at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere.

The African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF) awarded the regional qualification, African Club Championships, and African Cup events to Nigeria, which is fixed for Lagos between May 19 and 28.

Speaking to The Guardian yesterday, Bello, who won the female category of the three-day trials organised by the National Table Tennis Federation (NTTF), said she had been training hard for the championships even before the trial began, adding that she hopes to pull a surprise at the ITTF World Championships.

“Even before we were called for the trials by the NTTF, I had been training hard for the ITTF events. From the trials I won the Women Singles event and got picked for ITTF championship.

“I believe I am going to give my best, while hoping to spring a surprise in Lagos when the events begin. And who says I cannot win it by God’s grace because I believe there is nothing impossible in the game of table tennis,” she said.

Meanwhile, hosts, Nigeria, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin Republic, Togo, Niger Republic and Senegal have been confirmed for the Western Region qualifiers for the 2023 ITTF World Championships taking place in Lagos from May 19 to 21.

Egypt dominated the Northern Region qualifiers held in Algeria, while Mauritius ruled at the Eastern Region qualifiers hosted by Ethiopia.

The 2022 World Championships will be the second time Africa will be hosting the ITTF World Championships, as the city of Durban in South