Nigeria dominates 2023 ITTF Lagos Para Open

Table-tennis

Team Nigeria won all the laurels at stake at the Valuejet ITTF Lagos Para Open, which ended at the Molade Okoya Thomas Hall, Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos, at the weekend.

Among teams at the three-day competition were India, Uganda, Benin Republic, South Africa and Togo.The Valuejet Para Lagos Open, which is an ITTF Factor 20 World Ranking event, gave Nigerian players opportunity to hone their skills in a competition that featured some of the world’sbest players in the Word.

Majority of the Paris 2024 Paralympics-bound athletes dominated their various events with Bolawa Akingbemisilu acclaimed as the most successful athlete at the Lagos Para Open.

Akingbemisilu, who is the African champion in class five, enjoyed success in the singles and also partnered Egbinola Oluade to win gold in the men’s doubles class 4-8, while Chinenye Obiora got the top prize in the mixed doubles class 10.

Oluade also won the men’s singles class 1-3 category.

In other categories, Abiola Adesope partnered Aishat Raji to win the mixed doubles class 20 gold, while Temitope Idris joined forces with Precious Okafor to win the women’s doubles class 14-20. 

Idris also allied with Tajudeen Agunbiade to claim the mixed doubles class 14-17 crown. In the men’s singles, Isau Ogunkule won class 4, Kayode Alabi prevailed in class 6, Victor Farinloye emerged victorious in class 8 and Alabi Olufemi succeeded in class 10, just as Ifechukwude Ikpeoyi claimed the class 4-5 women’s singles title.

Other champions at the event include Nosimot Ganiu, who won class 1-3, Kafayat Olaitan the winner in class 6-8 and Maryam Popoola, who took the class 9-10 title. To complete Nigeria’s dominance of the competition, Agunbiade and Francis Chukwuemeka teamed up to win