Table tennis star, Offiong Edem on Tuesday won Nigeria’s first medal by finishing third in the women’s single at the 13th edition of the African Games holding at the Accra international conference centre, Ghana.
Edem defeated Egyptian twins Marwa and Mariam Alhodaby in the round of 16 and quarterfinals, solidifying her place among the medal contenders.
However, the experienced table tennis star lost 4-0 to the defending champion Dino Meshref of Egypt in their semi-final contest to settle for a bronze medal just as she did in 2019 in edition in Rabat, Morocco.
“I am so happy that we were able to attend the last World Championships in Korea and this really helped my game a lot. I want to thank the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) for their support and I believe attending such a competition really helped me personally here in Ghana
“The Egyptians are ahead of us because they attend more competitions than us and we hope we can get such support to return to the top of the game in Africa,” Edem said.
Edem’s bronze medal serves as a positive start for Nigeria at the African Games as many expect more medals to trickle in once the Games officially start on Friday.
With a contingent of 311 athletes at the last African Games held in Rabat, Morocco in 2019, Team Nigeria finished second on the final medals table with 127 medals (46 gold, 33 silver and 48 bronze).
With a slightly bigger contingent of 358 athletes this term, Team Nigeria will be hoping for a more rewarding outing in Ghana.
