25th February, 2015
Nigerian players are seriously warming up for the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Tour tagged Lagos Open.
The tournament holds inside Sir Molade Okoya-Thomas Indoor Sports Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, Lagos from 10-14 March.
Most of the players now besiege training centres across the country in their bid to put up good performance at the championship.
“We want to ensure that we give our fans the expected performance because we must do well in order to halt the Egyptians dominance of the tournament. There is no doubt that this year’s competition promises to be explosive as top players from Europe and Africa are coming to Lagos. We are also waiting,” the players said.
Meanwhile, Women’s singles defending champion of the Lagos Open, Egypt’s Nadeen El-Dawlatly has been ruled out of this year’s tournament. According to the President, Egypt Table Tennis Federation (ETTF), Alaa Meshref, El-Dawalatly has been advised by doctor to rest as she is undergoing treatment on her knee.
“She (Nadeen El-Dawlatly) had a knee problem and you can see her knee wrapped somehow in Kuwait Open on ITTV. She is under treatment and her doctor recommended that she should have a period of rest and then play gradually and did not approve her trip to Lagos in order not to start aggressively before she is totally ready and free of pain,” the ETTF boss said.
He added: “The schedule provided by her doctor would approve her to be ready by the Spanish Open.”
Meshref, whose daughter, Dina won the last ITTF Africa Senior Championships however, assured that the North African would present a formidable team for the Lagos Open.
“Egypt is coming with many good players and I am sure the fans in Lagos will enjoy the competition,” he said.