It was learnt that the tournament schedule shows Nigeria will face off against powerhouse teams from Britain and China in the highly anticipated table tennis event.
The Nigerian table tennis team is gearing up for a thrilling competition at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, France.
It was learnt that the tournament schedule shows Nigeria will face off against powerhouse teams from Britain and China in the highly anticipated table tennis event.
The 2024 Paralympic Games will run from August 28 to September 8, with the Para table tennis events taking place at the South Paris Arena 4.
Team Nigeria will begin their Paris 2024 Paralympic Games campaign on Thursday in the table tennis event.
Kayode Alabi and Faith Obazuaye will compete in the mixed doubles event, facing Great Britain’s duo of Joshua Stacey and Bly Twomey, while Alabi and Victor Farinloye will take on the Chinese pair of Huang Jiaxin and Peng Weinan.
Alabi and Obazuaye will start their campaign from the round of 32 in the mixed doubles, while Alabi and Farinloye will begin theirs in round 16 of the men’s doubles.
A confident Alabi expressed the team’s readiness to defy the odds saying, “We are ready for any opponent because we are well prepared for the challenge in Paris. There is no doubt that we are facing strong opponents, but we are not going to give up easily and hope to progress to the next stage,” said the African Champion in Class 6.
Team coach, Nasiru Sule is also optimistic about their chances but acknowledges the difficulty ahead: “It is not going to be easy at all because they are a strong team, but we will give our best.”
The draw for the singles in table tennis event is slated for August 30th. The Nigerian team of six men and two women will compete in doubles, mixed doubles, and singles events.
The country has a proud history in Paralympic table tennis, having won two gold and three bronze medals since their first win in Atlanta in 1996.
