Toriola leads ‘Team Nigeria’ to ITTF/ WTTC in Korea

Africa’s most decorated table tennis legend Segun Toriola will lead Nigeria contingent to the 2024 ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships (WTTC) taking place in Busan, South Korea from February 16 to 25.

According to the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF), Toriola was picked based on his wealth of experience coupled with his cordial relationships with most of the top players in the national team.

With the formal retirement of the former national coach Nosiru Sule last year, Toriola became the best option for the federation as the best hand to handle the teams to the WTTC which also serves as a qualifying tournament for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Toriola’s name is synonymous with Nigerian and African table tennis; having won numerous African titles and appearing in seven Olympic Games, Toriola has been influential in Africa while he is respected globally.

At the Busan 2024 WTTC, the Nigerian men’s team have been drawn against Japan, Chinese Taipei, Czech Republic and Madagascar in Group 8 as the eight groups of five countries in each group will be aiming to advance to the knockout rounds.

Egypt, the African champions, will battle Portugal, Romania, Iran and Thailand in Group 8, while Algeria will face France, Australia, Denmark and Austria.

In the women’s category, the Nigerian team were also grouped against Germany, Slovakia, Poland and Mexico, while the Egyptian ladies slugged it out against European teams; France, Czech Republic, Ukraine and Croatia in Group 8.

Algeria’s women face the massive task of battling Chinese Taipei, USA, Thailand and Chile in their group. The South African women’s team is pitted against Japan, Brazil, Luxembourg, and Iran in Group 2 of the women’s event.

China, the defending WTTC champions, occupy the top-seeded positions in both the men’s and women’s team events as the country’s ladies are placed in Group 1 with Hungary, India, Spain and Uzbekistan.

Each group will play a round-robin, with each team facing off against the other four teams in their group. After the round-robin, the top three teams from each group advance to the knockout phase. The top eight from the tournament get automatic tickets to the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The Nigerian delegation hopes for improved performance and a chance to clinch the Olympic tickets for both men’s and women’s events.

In 2023, Nigeria missed out on the continent’s sole ticket to the Games after losing finals of both men and women categories to Egypt at the African Championships in Tunis.