Aruna, Bello lead Nigeria contingent to African Cup in Kenya
Aruna who has been active on the WTT Series this year will be hoping to claim the title this year after injury knocked him out of it laurel in 2022 in Lagos.
The Nigerian ranked 12th in the world as the highest rated African in the competition will head the seeding list ahead of defending champion Omar Assar of Egypt in the men’s singles.
In the women’s singles, Bello, a surprise runner’s up in 2022 will be returning to the big stage again with the hope of repeating her feat against the star-studded list released by African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF) for the championships.
Bello, three-time West African champion is at present defending her title at the 2023 West Africa Regional championships in Accra, Ghana will have to contest against defending champion Hana Goda of Egypt as well as former champion Dina Meshref who has been in superb form in recent times.
Joining Aruna and Bello on the Nigeria team is Taiwo Mati and Tosin Esther Oribamise to compete in the men and women events in Kenya.
Mati, now based in Portugal will be hoping to re-enact the performance that saw him hitting the semi-final stage at the African championships in Algeria last year as he works his way into the top echelon of African table tennis ladder.
Oribamise was a last-minute replacement for Edem Offiong whose club engagement in Europe stopped her from being part of the tournament.
