Nigeria's Table Tennis star, Offiong Edem set new record in Europe

Nigeria's Table Tennis star, Offiong Edem, has become the first Nigerian to win the European Cup Women’s Table Tennis Title.

The 36-year-old Nigeria’s second-ranked table tennis star won the first European title for the ASD Quattro Mori Cagliari club.

Offiong, who is presently rated 142nd in the world, was overjoyed to assist her Italian Quattro Mori Cagliari in their historic victory over the Hungarian SH ITB Budaorsi Sports Club in the two-leg final in Budapest.

A 3-2 victory in the first match and a 3-0 victory in the second match are reported as the Italian team's victories in both legs.

The history maker recovered from an opening set defeat to beat Maria Fazekas 3-1 (5-11, 10-12, 7-11, 7-11) in the second leg after she had thrashed the Hungarian 3-0 (6-11, 6-11, 8-11) in the first leg.

Edem will take on Zhu Chengzhu in the first round of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Championship finals in Durban, South Africa.

The Calabar-born table tennis player competed for Nigeria at the 2004, 2012, and 2016 Summer Olympics. She qualified to represent Nigeria at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

The former national champion will organize a mini-table tennis tournament for children between the ages of seven and 15 from five states at the U.J. Esuene Stadium from June 3 to 7, 2023.

Participants will be drawn from Abia, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, and Cross River states.