Nigeria Open: Frenchman Hachard Vows To Retain Doubles Title In Lagos

On his first visit to Lagos, Antoine Hachard partnered compatriot – Gregoire Jean to clinch the men’s doubles title at the 2017 ITTF Challenge Nigeria Open.

Despite not making it to the podium in the men’s singles, Antoine Hachard is eager to make a return to Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre again this year with the hope of exceeding his 2017 performance.

Apart from aiming for a better outing this year, Antoine Harchard would love to experience the beautiful and exciting atmosphere inside the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos.

“I first heard about the excitement of the tournament in 2016 after watching the mesmerising dancing step of Finland’s Olah Bendek when he emerged winner at the 2016 edition of Nigeria Open. I decided to return this year because it will afford me the opportunity to have a good result as I felt very great last year.”

The Frenchman described the organisation of the tournament as top-notch. “The last year’s edition of Nigeria Open was well organised and it was a very special atmosphere because the crowd was totally involved during the matches and I loved this kind of experience. This made me to play well and I am looking forward to same experience this year,” he said.

Having played as a junior in Tunisia and Morocco, Antoine Hachard described the Nigeria Open’s experience as awesome and unique.

“Year 2017 was not my first visit to Africa because I played several competitions in Tunisia and Morocco as a junior player but my experience in Lagos was quite unique. My targets this year are to retain the men’s doubles title as well as reach semifinal or final of the singles event.”

Meanwhile, the July 20 deadline for the Media Accreditation of the 2018 International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Challenge Nigeria Open tagged ‘Lagos 2018’ is getting closer.

The Local Organising Committee (LOC) called on journalists and media houses willing to cover the Africa’s elite table tennis tournament holding on August 8 to 12, 2018 to register before the July 20 deadline.

Only accredited journalists and media houses will have access to the players and media tribune during the tournament. Also, accredited journalists and media houses are expected to book their interviews with some of the top players in advance with the LOC during the tournament.

The $46,000 prize money five-day championship holds at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos. To register, media practitioners are expected to access the form via https://bit.ly/2LX1Te3 .
The Local Organising Committee (LOC) said that this year’s tournament would witness large turnout of top players from Africa, Asia and Europe just as defending champions – Egypt’s Omar Assar and Dina Meshref have promised to come and defend their titles.

Six events have been listed by ITTF and they are singles (men and women); doubles (men and women) as well as U-21 boys and girls.

The deadline for registration of players in singles is on July 9 while for doubles is July 19, 2018 while 2016 champion – Olah Benedek of Finland has confirmed his return to Lagos this year. Also Nigeria’s super star – Aruna Quadri will be hoping to turn the tide this year after his unceremonious exit in round of 16 in 2017.