Sports Minister, John Owan Enoh, has applauded Team Nigeria’s table tennis players for making the country proud at the 2023 Africa Senior Table Tennis Championships held in Tunis, Tunisia, between September 11 – 17, 2023.
Africa’s top-ranked player, Aruna Quadri, won gold for Nigeria in the men’s singles after defeating perennial foe, Ahmed Saleh, of Egypt by 4-0 (11-2, 12-10, 11-6, 11-6) in the final match played in Tunis. The victory ensured Quadri retained his African title.
In the Women’s Doubles event, Nigeria’s duo of Funke Oshonaike and Fatimo Bello combined their experience and youthful energy to overpower Cameroon’s Sarah Hanffou and Egypt’s Marwa Alhodaby 3-2 (11-8, 8-11, 11-4, 7-11, 12-10) to clinch gold in the pulsating final.
Senator Enoh, in a press statement issued on Tuesday morning by his media aide, Kola Daniel, attributed the team podium performances to hard work and discipline, saying the federal government of Nigeria was committed toward ensuring that athletes adequately prepared for championships.
“On the behalf of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and all Nigerians, I heartily congratulate these incredible athletes for bringing glory to the country in far away Tunisia. “Defeating all-comers on the continent, in a foreign soil takes resilience, hard work, strength, and discipline. While the path to success has not been easy, their sense of patriotism remained unwavering.
“The Ministry is committed to putting everything in place to ensure that athletes are adequately prepared for championships, with their welfare adequately sorted out too. We understand the need to put athletes in their best shape in and outside competition cycles, and the Ministry will keep working with sports federations to achieve this,” the Minister said.
He also congratulated Olajide Omotayo and Idowu Saheed, who both lost in the men’s singles semi finals, urging them to take pride in their outings and reflect on their performances.
