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Nigeria’s men’s and women’s table tennis teams will begin their campaign at the 2026 International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Team Table Tennis Championships on Tuesday, with opening matches against Saudi Arabia and Wales, respectively
The tournament is historic as it marks the centenary of the championships, which were first staged in England in 1926.
In the men’s competition, Nigeria has been drawn in Group 15 alongside Hong Kong, China, South Africa and Saudi Arabia.
The women’s team will compete in Group 11, where they face Australia, Uzbekistan and Wales.
Nigeria’s men will be first in action against Saudi Arabia at 10:00 a.m. on Table 10. The women’s team will later take on Wales at 5:00 p.m. on Table 14.
Nigeria’s nine-player delegation, made up of five men and four women, is led by Quadri Aruna.
He is joined in the men’s team by Olajide Omotayo, Matthew Kuti, Taiwo Matti and Muizz Adegoke.
The women’s squad includes Fatimo Bello, Ajoke Ojomu, Sukurat Aiyelabegan and Hope Udoaka.
Nigeria is ranked second in both groups, behind Hong Kong, China in the men’s category and Australia in the women’s event.
The tournament will be played in two phases, with all ties decided through a best-of-five series of individual matches.
Stage 1a features the top seven seeded teams and the host nation in Groups 1 and 2, with all sides guaranteed places in the knockout round while competing for seeding positions.
The remaining 56 teams, including Nigeria, will contest Stage 1b in Groups 3 to 16.
The 14 group winners will qualify directly for the Round of 32, while runners-up will either enter a preliminary knockout round or advance automatically depending on rankings.
Elsewhere, Egypt’s women will face South Africa, while Algeria’s women, led by sisters Tania and Jade Morice, take on Belgium.
Ghana will meet Puerto Rico, Madagascar’s men face Mongolia, Uganda’s women play India, Rwanda’s women take on Ukraine, Angola’s women meet Austria, and Benin Republic’s men face Serbia.
