Ahead of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil, Nigeria have retained their lead on the continent in the April Olympic rankings of the International Table Tennis Federation released on Sunday.
Nigeria’s men’s team are ranked 26th in the world ahead of their rivals, Egypt, who are ranked 32. The team which is ranked highest in May will represent Africa in the team events of the Games.
The Nigeria team, led by veteran Segun Toriola, garnered 206 points but dropped a spot from the 25th position, which they occupied in March. Nigeria’s men team went ahead of the Egyptians after their performance at the 2016 ITTF Perfect Team World Cup in February. The Egyptians currently have 194 points.
However, the North African are far ahead of the Nigeria team in the women team rankings. They are 31 in the world with 152 points while the Nigerians are 40th in the world with 136 points.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri retains his top place in Africa as the highest ranked player on the continent after he moved to 29th place in the April ITTF rankings.
Despite being inactive in the ITTF World Tour in the last one month, Quadri garnered 2393 points to move one step up to occupy 29th place in the world. His continental rival, Egypt’s Omar Assar however, dropped from 36 to 37 in the world.
Former African champion, Segun Toriola, is third in Africa having moved from 117 to 109.
In the women rankings, Egypt’s Dina Meshref remains the best rated player from the continent despite dropping from 97 to 98.
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