Paris 2024: Nigeria’s Omotayo, Edem await first-round opponents

The official draw for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games table tennis competitions is scheduled for Wednesday, 24 July.

Nigeria’s trio of Olajide Omotayo, Offiong Edem, and Fatimo Bello will discover their first-round opponents when the event commences on 27 July at the South Paris Arena.

A total of 172 players (86 men and 86 women) will compete across five medal events.

Omotayo, his second Olympic appearance, will start in the Preliminary Rounds of the Men’s Singles.

Similarly, Edem, a five-time Olympian, and debutant Bello, will begin in the Preliminary Rounds.

As one of the top 16 seeds, Quadri Aruna will start his fifth Olympic campaign in the Round of 64 on July 28.

Aruna’s best Olympic performance was in Rio 2016, where he reached the quarterfinals, a feat matched by Egypt’s Omar Assar at Tokyo 2020.

Other African players, including Egypt’s Dina Meshref, Hana Goda, and Mohamed El-Beiali, as well as Senegal’s Ibrahima Diaw, Cameroon’s Sarah Hanffou, Algeria’s Mehdi Bouloussa and Lyna Loghraibi, and Madagascar’s Fabio Rakotoarimanana, will all begin their quest in the Preliminary Rounds on July 27.

Legend Ma Long

Meanwhile, Chinese legend Ma Long, considered the greatest table tennis player of all time, prepares for his potential final Olympic appearance in Paris.

With five Olympic gold medals, Ma Long’s legacy is already cemented.

He won his first Olympic gold in 2012 and added individual gold medals in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, becoming the first player to defend his Men’s Singles title.

Ma Long now aims to add another team gold to his collection in Paris.