Ghana 2024 AAG: Nigeria joins Egypt, Algeria in table tennis quarterfinals

Quadri Aruna of Nigeria (Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images)

Nigeria, yesterday, joined other top seeds, Egypt and Algeria, as well as Tunisia and Madagascar, in the quarterfinals of the men’s team category of the table tennis event at the ongoing African Games holding in Accra, Ghana.

Egypt won Group 1 by beating Ethiopia and Gabon 3-0 each to maintain their 100 per cent record, while Nigeria, drawn in Group 2 alongside Congo DR and Mauritania, had 3-0 wins over the two teams to top the group.

Algeria also beat Angola and Guinea 3-0 respectively to win Group 3 and progress to the last eight, just as Tunisia defeated Cote d’Ivoire and Kenya to progress in Group 4.

Group 5 leaders, Madagascar, edged Ghana and Sudan to join the elite teams in the quarterfinal.

The battle for the remaining three quarterfinal slots will see the second-placed teams in each group in elimination battles to determine who joins the elite group.

In the women’s team event, Egypt, South Africa, Nigeria and Tunisia have already booked their spots in the semifinal round by topping their groups. They are waiting for the second-placed teams in the four groups to determine the semifinal pairing.

Meanwhile, African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF) President, Khaled El-Salhy, has commended the participating teams for the standard of play, just as he praised hosts, Ghana, for creating a conducive environment for the event.

“I am so excited that we have over 19 countries in the event; we are particularly happy with what Ghana has put in place to ensure the success of the event.

“We are lucky to be the first sport to start competing at the 13th African Games, which has shown again that table tennis is fast returning to Ghana just like it was in the 1970s.

“We look