Nigeria rules ITTF West Africa Regional Championships in Ghana

Nigeria showed itself as a powerhouse in West Africa after dominating all the events at the just concluded ITTF West Africa Regional Championships held in Accra, Ghana.

The four-day tournament has teams from Benin Republic, Togo, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and host Ghana competing in the team and singles events.

Again, Nigeria showed its supremacy in the region after retaining the men and women team events at the expense of Benin Republic and Ghana.

Fatimo Bello of Nigeria set a new record after claiming the fourth women’s singles title to retain the laurel ahead of her compatriot Ajoke Ojomu in the explosive final.

By winning the title, Bello has become the first player to win the singles title four times in a row.

To emerge as champion at the Trust Sports Emporium in Accra, Bello faced a stiff test from Ojomu but she was able to pull through with a 4-3 (9-11, 11-8, 13-11, 6-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-9) win.

Also in the men’s singles, Amadi Umeh of Nigeria defeated former champion Oba Oba Kizito of Côte d’Ivoire in a one-sided final.

It was with ease that Umeh beat the 2019 champion 4-0 (11-6, 11-8, 15-13, 11-8) to emerge as the new men’s singles champion.

Bello had earlier guided Nigeria women’s team to victory in the women’s team final against host – Ghana to retain their title.

Umeh also spearheaded Nigeria’s dominance in the men’s team event with a convincing 3-0 win over Benin Republic in the final.