At 50, Saka Suraju Returns To Continental Spotlight After 10 Years
Ten years after his last appearance on the continental stage, table tennis veteran Saka Suraju is set to make a remarkable return when the 2026 ITTF Africa Championships hold in Tangier, Morocco, from October 18 to 26.
Suraju, 50, last represented Congo Brazzaville at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, but his passion for the sport has remained undiminished.
Now back in competitive action, the veteran says he still has what it takes to compete against Africa’s best.
“In table tennis, age is just a number because the sport has always been my life,” Suraju said.
“Even though I have been coaching lately, I still believe I have the mojo to compete at a higher level against some of Africa’s best.
“It is a clarion call for me to represent Congo Brazzaville, as all my achievements in the sport have been through their support, and I am ready to wear the colours of the country again at this big stage.”
His return to competition in 2025 offered an indication that his skills remain intact. At the Central African Regional Championships in Brazzaville, Suraju reached the quarter-finals before losing 4-3 to eventual champion Batix Ylane of Cameroon.
Suraju has already secured his place in African table tennis history.
In 2008, he became the first male singles champion since 1968 from outside Egypt and Nigeria when he won the African Table Tennis Championships title for Congo Brazzaville.
He also became the first table tennis player from Congo Brazzaville to compete at the Olympic Games, appearing at three successive editions in Beijing in 2008, London in 2012 and Rio in 2016.
His medal collection includes doubles silver and team bronze at the 2015 All-Africa Games in Brazzaville, as well as a doubles bronze at the 2011 Games in Maputo.
His longevity has seen him draw comparisons with Nigeria’s Segun Toriola, another of Africa’s most decorated and enduring table tennis players.
At the Tangier championships, Suraju will join fellow veteran Saheed Idowu and rising star Pena Chelvy in Congo Brazzaville’s three-man squad.
The trio will compete against Africa’s leading players across seven events at the championship, which will be staged at the 10,000-capacity Salle Omnisports Arena.
