Nigeria’s men’s doubles team at the 2024 WTT Contender Lagos tournament, Olajide Omotayo and Azeez Solanke, are through to the event final.
The duo made history on Saturday at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Indoor Sports Hall in Surulere when they defeated Chinese duo Luo Jiecheng and Fei Junhang, 3-2 in a thrilling five-set encounter.
They will now face the Indian duo of Harmeet Desai and Manav Thakkar in the final.
The Nigerian pair started strong, winning the first set 12-10. However, they were pegged back in the second set, as they lost 11-7. The Chinese team continued their momentum, winning the third set 11-4.
But Omotayo and Solanke refused to give up, fighting back to win the fourth set to force a deciding fifth set. In a nail-biting finish, the Nigerian duo emerged victorious, winning the fifth set 11-8 to secure their place in the final.
Other games
Defending champion Shin Yubin, ranked No. 8 in the world, was knocked out of the women’s singles event by India’s Mukherjee Sutirtha, ranked No. 125.
Sutirtha emerged victorious, 3-2 (9-11, 11-3, 11-9, 9-11, 6-11) in a tough quarter-final match.
Akula Sreeja also defeated Ghorpade Yashaswini 3-0 (11-6, 11-9, 11-8) in an all-Indian quarter-final tie and will face compatriot Sutirtha for a place in the final on Sunday.
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Sutirtha’s victory follows another major upset where Egypt’s Badawy Farida, ranked 331, defeated Batra Manika, ranked 28, 3-2, to reach the WTT tournament quarterfinal in her debut.
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