The Nigerian duo of Olajide Omotayo and the legendary Funke Oshonaike have missed out on a chance to clinch a ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games following their 3-1 loss to their Egyptian counterpart on Friday.
The duo lost to the Egyptian pair of Omar Assar and Dina Meshref in the mixed doubles final at the International Table Tennis Federation’s (ITTF) Africa Senior Championship held in Tunis, Tunisia.
Egypt secures a remarkable third Paris 2024 @Olympics ticket, with Omar Assar and Dina Meshref defeating Nigeria’s Olajide Omotayo and Funke Oshonaike 3-1 (11-8, 6-11, 11-1, 12-10) in the Mixed doubles final at the Africa Senior Championship held in Tunisia. pic.twitter.com/KvIk35LgeY
— ITTF-Africa (@ITTFAfrica) September 15, 2023
Meshref, who is the number one women’s table tennis player on the continent, matched up with Omar, the No. 2 men’s table tennis player in Africa, to overcome their Nigerian opposition 11-8, 6-11, 11-1, and 12-10 to help Egypt secure their third Paris Olympic ticket.
On Thursday, Egypt also defeated Nigeria in the final of the team event at the ongoing ITTF African Championships to pick up two tickets to next year’s Games.
Egypt swept up the tickets at stake for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after beating Nigeria in the final of the team event at the 2023 ITTF African Championships taking place in Tunis, Tunisia.
Read more – https://t.co/IIkGbo8eGM pic.twitter.com/gUuEjPeOte
— ITTF-Africa (@ITTFAfrica) September 14, 2023
The North African women defeated their Nigerian counterparts 3-0, and the men also won 3-1 to ensure their participation at the Games in Paris.