Nigeria’s women’s table tennis team have crashed out of the Team Event of the ongoing 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, after they lost 3-2 to England on Saturday, while the men advanced to the quarter-finals of the event with a 3-0 win over Cyprus.
Offiong Edem and Fatimo Bello defeated England duo Maria Tsaptsinos and Tin-Tin Ho 3-1 and 3-2 respectively in the Women’s Group 1, but it was not enough to see the ladies through, as they (Bello and Edem) lost 3-0 in the doubles, while Ajoke Ojomu lost her two singles games 3-0 to Ho and 3-2 to Charlotte Bardsley respectively.
The women’s team finished in third place in Group 1 with one point from three games.
On Friday, they had beaten St Vincent and Grenadines 3-0 in their opening Team Event, but lost 3-0 to Singapore, who qualified for the quarter-finals along with hosts England.
However, despite their exit from the women’s team event, the female table tennis players still have a chance of a podium finish, as they are still in the singles, doubles and mixed doubles events of the Games.
But the men’s team, led by world No.11 Quadri Aruna, cruised to the quarter-finals after another convincing 3-0 win over Cyprus today in the Men’s Group 2. They had beaten fellow Africans Ghana and South Africa with same scoreline on Friday.
First, duo Bode Abiodun and Olajide Omotayo hammered Iosif Elia and Christos Savva 3-0 in the doubles Team Event, while Aruna sent Marios Yiangou packing 3-2.
Omotayo, the African Games champion, then asserted his superiority over Savva with a 3-0 demolition to complete the victory over the Cypriots.
Reacting to Team Nigeria performances in the table tennis Team Events, Toyin Ibitoye, media aide to the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, said, “Sadly, (we are) out of the Team Event for the women. Singapore and England made it out of our group but the men are through to the quarter-finals. However, our women are still involved in the singles, doubles and mixed doubles events as well.”
(PUNCH)
