A three-man delegation of the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) have departed Lagos for Nairobi in Kenya for the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Africa Top 16 Cups. The championships holding from Thursday to Saturday will serve as qualifiers for the World Cup slated for later in the year.

Bello Nasiru, the NTTF national coach, said the country’s representatives are two male and two female players who are expected to arrive later on Wednesday from their bases.

 

Nasiru, also a member of the contingent, gave names of others members of the delegation as Isiaku Tikon, the NTTF President, and Anderson Bankole, the NTTF Technical Director.

 

He also gave the names of the foreign-based players as Aruna Quadri, Segun Toriola, Olufunke Oshonaike and Edem Offiong.

 

Nasiru added that the competition would further help the players to prepare for the 2018 Commonwealth Games of Gold Coast in Australia billed for April 4 to April 15.

 

“Most of the players expected to feature at the forthcoming Commonwealth Games will be part of the championships, and this will make the event highly competitive.

 

“However, I am optimistic that our players will perform excellently because they have been active with competitions in their various clubs. So, this is an opportunity to prove their competence,’’ he said.