ITTF Rankings: Nigeria Ends 2019 In 16th Position

ITTF Rankings: Nigeria Ends 2019 In 16th Position

By Admin

Aruna Quadri‘s unbeaten run at the ITTF World Tour tagged Bulgaria Open came to a glorious end yesterday as the Nigeria Open champion fell to China’s Zhao Zihao 4-1 in the men’s singles semifinal.

Nigeria has proved it is the powerhouse of African Table tennis after the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) rated it 16th in the latest ranking.

According to the rating, Nigeria beat Egypt, the 2019 African Games champion to second place in Africa while China remains the best in the world.

At the 2019 African Games held in Morocco, Nigeria lost its title in the men’s event to Egypt as well as continental sole slot of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

But the setback in Morocco did not prevent Nigeria from rising to the top of the rating in Africa with 264 points while Egypt

But fortune smiled on Egypt in the women’s ranking as the North Africa team retained their place among the elite nations. The team is rated 15 with 230points while Nigeria slide into 35th place with 192 points as the second best African team in the world.

On Tuesday in China, Ma Long and Liu Shiwen, who are this year’s World Champions in the men’s and women’s singles have been crowned Male and Female Table Tennis Stars at the 2019 ITTF Star Awards, held in Zhengzhou China.

The annual celebration brought together players, coaches, special guests, ITTF staff and officials from all over the world to acknowledge the greatest achievements in international table tennis over the past year.