The youngest players at the Nigeria Open 2018, the Mustapha brothers who hail from Borno State, have been a big hit on social media. Mustapha Mustapha, 10, and his brother Musa, 9, played at their first international tournament on Wednesday in the U-21 men’s singles.
Despite being overpowered by their older opponents in both their two group matches, the Abuja-based duo took away valuable lessons with a vow to keep improving after picking up the sport via their father, Saheed Mustapha, a former player himself, just a year ago.
Their story has been a hit on social media where it was the most retweeted post of the opening day on the tournament’s official account, @ITTFNigeriaOpen. At the time of going to press, it had been retweeted more than 40 times while gaining enquiries from fans and journalists.
Musa Mustapha
Mustapha, whose role model is Germany’s Timo Boll, said: “We began playing table tennis in 2017 and have played in a few other tournaments but the Nigeria Open is our first international tournament. We have learned a lot from playing against more experienced players.”
The younger Musa, whose role model is Japan’s Harimoto Tamokazu, declared confidently: “I will win the Nigeria Open in future.”
Mustapha lost to Nigeria’s Augustine Emmanuel 11-3, 11-2, 11-8 in the first group game and to Wang Xinyang of China in the second.
Musa lost to Tobi Falana 11-3, 11-6, 11-2 in his first group game before falling to Wael Ziad of Egypt in his second game.
The experience gotten from the Nigeria Open 2018 will help the Mustapha brothers’ confidence as they continue their table tennis journey.
ITTF Challenge Nigeria Open 2018: India’s 19-year-old Indian Sensation Mudit Dani To Compete With The Big Boys…As China, India Contingents Arrive
After spending his first year as an undergraduate student at New York University in United States, 19-year-old Indian sensation, Mudit Dani has decided to take a foray into the senior cadre when he competes at the ITTF Challenge Seamaster Nigeria Open.
Also on Tuesday, the contingents of India and China are expected to touch down in Lagos in readiness for the qualifying round of the championship holding on August 8 to 12 at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium.
In 2017 when Mudit Dani was studying Management in US, Mudit Dani was away from international scene but he was active as an undergraduate in his school.
Mudit Dani, a former ITTF Junior Circuit champion will be playing his first senior tournament in Lagos come August 8 to 12 but he is unperturbed by the pedigree of stars heading to Nigeria.
“Yes this is my first ever appearance on ITTF’s 3 tier Professional Platform (Challenge Series/World Tour/Platinum Tour) and I would like to thank Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) for giving me this opportunity,” he said.
Speaking on what he knew about Nigeria Open, Mudit Dani said: “Talking to the Indian players who played at last year’s Nigeria Open, I heard that it is one of the best events to play at. The stands are full of loud and enthusiastic supporters that appreciate and understand table tennis. They are extremely proud of their Nigerian players but also show a lot of love and support to international players – something that is not so common at other world events. In short, they make you feel warm and encourage you to do your best, and I can’t wait to play in front of them.”
Reeling out his exploit as a junior player, the Indian star said: “Thanks to TTFI, I represented India at 16 World Junior Circuit events where I won 20 medals (3 Gold, 5 Silver, and 12 Bronze) in singles, doubles and teams events. I was ranked as high as number 10 on the ITTF World Junior Boys’ Standings and qualified twice for the ITTF World Junior Circuit Grand Finals (an invitational event for the top 16 players at the end of the year).”
Explaining how he got the chance to be part of the Indian team to Lagos, Mudit Dani said: “With India’s top few players preparing for the Asian Games in August, the next few players including some young upcoming players have been given a chance to play at the Nigeria Open. This would be the perfect chance for us to prove ourselves on the world platform and gain experience of playing on the senior circuit.”
Mudit Dani
Despite the pedigree of players competing at this year’s Nigeria Open, Mudit Dani said: “I just received a confirmation of my participation a few hours ago, and the excitement hasn’t completely sunk in yet. To be very honest, I haven’t gone through the list of players very closely just as yet, but I can see that many high ranked players are coming.
“Finishing on the podium would be a dream comes true in my first senior event, but my main aim for this event would be to express myself and play to my potential against the best of the best in the world. Just competing and interacting with players I have grown up watching on YouTube and TV is going to be a fantastic experience. I think I will be coming in with no expectations as the famous saying goes “expectation is the mother of all frustration.” Being my first senior event, I just hope to be able to bring out my A-game, play hard, yet fair and soak in this valuable experience. Irrespective of results, this tournament will surely be a very special few days in Lagos. I can’t wait to get started.”
It is a known fact that ITTF Challenge Nigeria Open has continued to attract international attention to the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria – Lagos State in the last five years.
Lagos is the smallest in area among Nigeria’s 36 states, and it is arguably the most economically important state of the country. As Nigeria’s largest urban area, Lagos is a major financial centre and the Executive Chairman of the Lagos State Sports Commission (LSSC), Kweku Tandoh believes the staging of the annual ITTF Challenge Nigeria Open has put the state on international limelight as well as exposed its tourism potentials to the world.
Dr Kweku Tandoh,
“The ITTF Challenge Nigeria Open is indeed a unique event that started out as the Lagos International Table Tennis Classics in 2014. Just after one year of its coming into existence, the success of the event attracted the attention of the ITTF into approving its inclusion in the ITTF annual calendar of events and the event has continued to grow in leaps and bounds. The impact of the Nigeria Open on Lagos State has been huge and beneficial in many respects. For example, the event annually attracts tourists from all over the world into the State. It has helped to showcase the beneficial synergy between sports and tourism, a major area of focus for Governor Akinwunmi Ambode.
“In addition, many Lagos State athletes are now annually exposed to meeting, watching and playing with international players and is has helped to improve their own performances. Commerce and local business also thrive in the State during the Nigeria Open as there are increased commercial activities in and around the venues, hotels improve occupancy rates and sponsors and partners have an opportunity to market their products and make brisk sales. Of course the period of the event and its international flavour, international media exposure all help to ensure that Lagos State is in the international spotlight. Another benefit to the State is the opportunity the event offers our Sports Commission staff to build capacity in the area of sports event planning and organisation,” Tandoh said.
For 2018, Kweku Tandoh said: “This year Lagos State has improved upon its partnership contribution as promised by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode during the finals of last year’s event. We are also working closely with the Local Organising Committee (LOC) to ensure that this year’s event is bigger and better in all ramifications.
“Nigeria Open offers us the opportunity to use sports/ sporting events to boost tourism. The event will also be listed in the Lagos State Tourism Annual Calendar. We also intend to incorporate bus and/or boat tours for the visiting athletes and officials and also expose them to the sights, sounds, arts and culture of the State. Many of the international players who have attended previous events have become “tourism ambassadors” for the state as they always look forward to coming back to Lagos.”
“As the Executive Chairman of the Lagos State Sports Commission, my expectation for this year’s Nigeria Open is that we surpass all that has been achieved in the past regarding this event. And we will put in all the hard work that is required to enable us attain unto greater heights, working closely with the LOC, Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) and ITTF,” he added.
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