Table Tennis: Team Egypt beats Nigeria to secure a place in London

The Egyptian team has advanced to the main draw of the World Team Championships following a comprehensive 3-0 win against continental rivals Nigeria in the Men’s Team preliminary round.

Egypt’s breakthrough came after finishing second in Group 11 with five points, just one point behind leaders Kazakhstan. It will be a decisive match against Nigeria for a place in the last 32, where Egypt’s depth and quality could prove decisive.

Youssef Abdelaziz opened the match with a straight sets win over Olajide Omotayo, continuing his impressive form. The main encounter sees Omar Assar take on Quadri Aruna in their 25th career meeting.

In a closely contested fight, Assar emerged victorious and claimed his sixth straight victory over the Nigerian star. Rising talent and reigning African youth champion, Badr Mostafa, sealed Egypt’s win with a clinical 3-0 win over Kuti Matthew.

With this result, Assar’s squad remains the only African men’s team left competing in London.

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The Egyptian women’s team also performed perfectly, topping Group 3 to advance to the main draw without any difficulty in the preliminary round.

Led by Dina Meshref and supported by Mariam Alhidaby, Hana Goda, and Farida Badawy, the team recorded perfect 3-0 wins against South Africa, Algeria, and Belgium. Their dominant performance established them as the only African women’s team to qualify for the knockout stages.

Elsewhere, the Algerian women’s team picked up a morale-boosting win over South Africa in their final group game, while the men’s teams from Madagascar, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Angola and Cameroon each registered wins in the group stage, ending their campaign in London.

As the World Team Championships move from the Copper Box Arena to the iconic Ovo Arena, Wembley, Egypt’s men and women stand tall as Africa’s flag bearers, ready to challenge the world’s elite teams in the knockout stages.