At London’s Copper Box Arena, Nigeria, Egypt, and Madagascar began their 2026 ITTF World Team Championships campaigns with valiant wins.
Egypt had a good start but had to work hard to defeat Thailand 3-1, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). Nigeria defeated Saudi Arabia 3-2 early on Wednesday, while Madagascar’s Fabio Rakotoarimanana proved vital in an exciting 3-2 victory over Mongolia.
Talisman Quadri Aruna, who sparked the comeback after young player Matthew Kuti lost both of his games, was crucial to Nigeria’s victory.
Nigeria is well-positioned to advance to the knockout stage as Aruna and Olajide Omotayo stepped up to secure the first group victory.
Nigeria will next play top-seeded Hong Kong today, and on Friday they will play South Africa to wrap up their group.
Each group’s top two teams advance to the knockout round.
The Group 3 match between Madagascar and Mongolia was a wild ride that saw significant swings between the two teams.
Madagascar took a 2-0 lead with to Rakotoarimanana and Antoine Razafinarivo, but Ankhbayar Bilguun and Temuulen Myandal helped Mongolia rally to tie the score.
Egypt is still the only African team to have won the first round of the women’s competition.
Egypt carried Africa’s hopes in the early going after Nigeria, Algeria, and Rwanda were all defeated. (NAN)
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