The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), Africa Western Region Championship, will kick-starts today at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.

Host, Nigeria and six West Africa neighbours, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin Republic, Togo and Liberia will take part in the four-day championship in seven events.

According to ITTF Africa Western Region Secretary-General, Germain Karou, the challenge will mark a return to competition in the region after the COVID-19 pandemic setback, adding that all the participating countries have arrived for the rivalry, as the venue for the contest is also ready to host an epic encounters.

“We are happy that our region is getting back to action after the COVID-19 pandemic, which prevented the staging of the tournament in 2020.

“But as usual Lagos being the host of table tennis; we will be treated to exciting matches from teams and players from the region.

“It promises to be explosive as some of the players are ready to clinch the titles in the absence of top players like Quadri Aruna in the region,” Karou, who is also the president of Cote d’Ivoire Table Tennis Federation, stated.

Speaking on the state’s preparedness, the Lagos State Sports Commission (LSSC) Chairman, Sola Aiyepeku, has said that the state is ready to host the competition in compliance with COVID-19 protocol.

“We will do everything to show our visitors that ‘This is Lagos’ by ensuring they enjoy their stay in Lagos and partake in an exciting hitch-free tournament.

“More importantly, we want to create a veritable platform for our players in Africa to demonstrate and improve their skills. This will go a long way to identifying, promoting and preparing them ahead of future competitions beyond the continent,” he said.