Nigeria drawn against Japan, Chinese Taipei for ITTF world team championship

The Nigerian men’s team have been drawn against Japan, Chinese Taipei, Czech Republic and Madagascar in the 2024 ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships (WTTC).

The draw was held in Busan, South Korea, on Tuesday, and teams were divided into eight groups of five countries looking to advance to the knockout rounds.

Egypt, the African champions, will battle against 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 will slug 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 pitched 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.

The 2024 World Team Table Tennis Championships will be held in Busan between February 16 and 25.

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 deligation hopes for improved performance and a chance to clinch the Olympic tickets for both men’s and women’s events. In 2023, they missed out on the continent’s sole ticket to the Games after losing finals of both gender categories to Egypt at the African Championships in Tunis.