OFFIONG Edem has become Team Nigeria’s first medallist at the 13th African Games in Accra, Ghana.
The veteran table tennis star won bronze in the women’s singles category after losing her semi-final battle 4-0 to Egypt’s Dina Meshref today.
“I am so happy that we were able to attend the last World Championships in Korea and this really helped my game a lot,” Edem told reporters after her medal win.
“I want to thank the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) for their support and I believe attending such a competition really helped me personally here in Ghana.
“The Egyptians are ahead of us because they attend more competitions than us and we hope we can get such support to return to the top of the game in Africa.”
The 37-year-old Edem had previously won women’s singles gold at the 2011 African Games in Maputo, Mozambique as well as gold in the women’s doubles and mixed doubles events in the same edition.
Edem also won team and women’s doubles gold medals at the 2007 Games in Algiers, Algeria as well as team silver in Maputo in 2011 and Brazzaville, Congo in 2015.
The 13th African Games will officially open on Friday and end on March 23, with Team Nigeria competing in 25 sports.
