The 2024 WTT Contender Lagos has come and gone but the memory lingers in the minds of the players and others who took part in the five-day event from across the world.
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The seamless organisation wowed all present, even as it further cemented Lagos’ reputation as a top destination for sports events hosted in Africa. Aside from that, the players were full of praises for the vibrant engagement they enjoyed from the Lagos fans who raised many flailing spirits to victory with their vociferous voice of support.
15 countries from four continents were in the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria for the $80,000 prize money WTT Series and ranking points at stake. It was such a memorable outing that players after players expressed their desire to be back in Lagos and the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium venue of the WTT Contender next year to do table tennis battle afresh.
One of them is former World No. 1 Dimitrij Ovtcharov, who won his second WTT Contender Singles title in the just-concluded tournament on his second visit to Lagos. Ovtcharov, an Olympic Games medalist and one of the most respected table tennis players in the world, said Lagos has become part of him as the city brings out the best in him.
The German bagged the WTT Contender Lagos Men’s Singles title on Sunday, June 23 at the expense of his compatriot, Ricardo Walther.
Also, Ovtcharov’s compatriot, Steffen Mengel, a quarterfinalist in the Men’s Singles, described the Lagos ambiance as unique.
Women’s Singles champion and the first female Indian to win a WTT Contender title Sreeja Akula is not new to Lagos as she has visited twice in the past.
In an overview of her country’s performance at the WTT Contender, Akula was quick to admit that Lagos has become a fortress for Indian players, stressing that she would continue to come back to the city.
Similarly, South Korean star and 2023 Women’s Singles champion, Shin Yubin, who was on her second visit to Lagos, observed: “The Lagos fans are electrifying. We are having fun playing before them.”
Meanwhile, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu who was the Special Guest at the finale of this year’s WTT Contender Lagos, has pledged to continue to raise the profile of the tournament.
Governor Sanwo-Olu said: “Sports in Lagos has come to stay and we are happy that World Table Tennis (WTT) has identified Lagos, Nigeria as one of the cities promoting table tennis in Africa and the world.
“We are happy that WTT Contender Lagos has attracted some of the best players in the world to the state. We have seen table tennis being played at the highest level imaginable and we are happy that young Nigerians have also turned up for the tournament.
“The fans’ turnout shows that the organisation has been spectacular, just like you would find anywhere in the world. We are hoping that this would encourage more sponsors to support future WTT Contender Lagos and sustain Lagos’s fine reputation as a popular destination for global sporting events, business, and tourism.”
