By Vivian Ahanmisi
Nigeria’s trio — Olajide Omotayo, Matthew Kuti, and Muiz Adegoke — were eliminated in the first round after losing their respective matches at the ITTF World Championships in Doha.
Kuti, on Sunday, lost 0-4 (1-11, 11-13, 5-11, 5-11) to Poland’s Samuel Kulczycki, while Omotayo was beaten 1-4 (10-12, 7-11, 8-11, 12-10, 5-11) by Brazil’s Leonardo Iizuka.
Adegoke started well against Belgium’s Adrien Rassenfosse, winning the second set after losing the first, but eventually lost 1-4 due to inexperience and unforced errors.
Egypt’s Omar Assar advanced to the Men’s Singles second round after a dominant 4-1 victory over Croatia’s Frane Kojic.
Assar, a 2023 quarter-finalist in Durban, controlled the match early with aggressive play that unsettled his Croatian opponent.
He took the first set 11-7, dropped the second 9-11, but then won the next three (11-9, 11-5, 11-4) to seal the win.
Assar joins Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna in the second round of the Men’s Singles event.
In another gripping match, Egypt’s Youssef Abdelaziz came close to an upset against China’s Lin Gaoyuan but lost 2-4 (6-11, 11-2, 11-8, 6-11, 11-7, 11-6).
Algeria’s Mehdi Bouloussa struggled against Japan’s Kenji Matsudaira, losing 0-4 (8-11, 7-11, 3-11, 10-12).
Africa’s remaining hopefuls will continue their Men’s Singles campaigns, with Assar facing Portugal’s Marcos Freitas and Aruna meeting Norway’s Borgar Haug.
In the Women’s Singles, Madagascar’s Hanitra Raharimanana will face Germany’s Sabine Winter in her next match.
Egypt’s Hana Goda is set to play Brazil’s Giulia Takahashi in the second round of the tournament.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Egypt’s Yousra Helmy will face Turkey’s Sibel Altinkaya in the second round. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Kamal Tayo Oropo
