In the men’s table tennis team competition at the ongoing Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, the United Kingdom, Team Nigeria secured a semifinal berth on Sunday.
An inspired Nigerian team, headed by Quadri Aruna, recovered from a slow start on Sunday at NEC Hall 3 to overcome Malaysia 3-2, securing a semifinal matchup against India on Monday.
Javen Choong and Qi Shen defeated Nigeria’s Bode Abiodun and Olajide Omotayo in the doubles competition 3-1. (6-11, 12-10, 12-10,11-7).
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Chee Feng Leong of Malaysia fell 1-3 to Quadri Aruna (9-11, 11-6, 5-11, and 5-11) in the singles round, while Abiodun lost 0-3 against Qi Shen Wong. (10-12, 12 -14, 5-11)
In the third singles game, Leong lost 1-3 (8-11, 11-9, 7-11, 6-11) to Omotayo while the last game also saw Jave Choong succumb to Aruna 1-3 (11-7, 8-11, 5-11, 9-11).
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Meanwhile, Edidiong Umoafia clinched a bronze medal for Nigeria in the men’s 67kg Weightlifting event earlier in the day.
Umoafia lifted a combined 290kg in “Snatch’’ as well as “Clean and Jerk’’ categories to get on the podium.
In the boxing event, Nigeria’s Adeyinka Benson defeated his Ghanaian opponent Abubakari Kwesi Quartey 3-2 in Round 16 of the men’s over 71kg-75kg Middleweight category.
Benson has progressed to the quarterfinals.
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About 2022 Commonwealth Games
The 2022 Commonwealth Games, also referred to as Birmingham 2022 or the XXII Commonwealth Games, are an international multi-sport competition for Commonwealth of Nations participants that will also be held in Birmingham, England, from July 28 through August 8, 2022.
