TheCable

The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) on Wednesday described the annual ITTF Challenge Plus Nigeria Open as a model tournament due the large following it continues to attract around the world.

Executive vice president of the ITTF, Alaa Meshref, who made the remark in Lagos, said the tournament’s global acceptance by players had led the federation to upgrade the tournament to Challenge Plus.

“The audience has greatly improved over the last few years with more players always looking forward to competing in Nigeria and this trend is commendable,” Meshref said.

The ITTF chief also commended the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) and Lagos State Government for their commitment to the sport, even as he expressed hope that the tournament would continue to set standards.

“We believe that in no distant time, the tournament will rival others in Europe and Asia in terms of prize money and I want to say that the ITTF will continue to support this tournament in Nigeria,” he also said.

NTTF president, Ishaku Tikon, expressed delight that the tournament had consistently set new records with over 32 nations competing this year.

“We are grateful to our sponsors and we want to thank the Lagos state governor Babajide Sanwo-olu for his total commitment. On our part as a federation, we would not fail to match our words with concrete action,” Tikon said.