In a development that has reverberated positively among Nigerians, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has ranked Nigeria’s teenage table tennis sensation Musa Mustapha as the world’s best player in the boys’ U-11 Cadet category.
It would be recalled that Mustapha made his senior debut at the 2018 Nigeria Open in Lagos and was part of the Nigerian team that won the 2019 ITTF Junior Circuit in Ghana.
In the latest rankings released by the ITTF, Mustapha has 128 points, which made him number one in the U-11, while he is also ranked 17th in the U-13 category.
The Mustapha brothers, Musa and Mustapha are back again for the Nigeria Open, a year older and perhaps wiser.
Although, they both fell at the very first hurdle to older opponents in the qualifying stage of the U21 men’s singles in August, 2019.
In view of his latest feat, Mustapha becomes the second African to be rated number one in the world after Hana Goda was in 2020 named the best U-15 girls in the world.
It is important to also note that National junior champion Taiwo Matti is ranked 12th and 64th in the U-17 and U-19 world rankings respectively.
It is also imperative to clarify that the new WTT Youth Series replaces the ITTF World Junior Circuit and is now complemented by the new ranking regulations.
Officials have disclosed that the WTT Youth Series will be hosted by Portugal from May 11 to 17 and it will serve as the first youth table tennis event to be held since the start of the corona virus.
