Musa Mustapha: Teenage Nigerian Wonderkid Ranked World’s Top Cadet Player

Nigeria’s teenage table tennis sensation Musa Mustapha has been ranked world’s best in the boys’ U-11 by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).

With this development, Mustapha becomes the second African to be rated number one in the world after Hana Goda was named the best U-15 girls in the world in 2020.

The Abuja-based Mustapha was part of the Nigerian team that won the 2019 ITTF Junior Circuit in Ghana and the world table tennis ruling body has also been monitoring the player in the last three years after he made his senior debut at the 2018 Nigeria Open in Lagos.

In the ranking list released by ITTF, Mustapha topped the U-11s with 128 points and was also ranked 17th in the U-13 category, one spot higher than his brother Mustapha.

The Al-Faizun Junior Academy student is expected to be part of the World Youth Series taking place later this year in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana.

Meanwhile, National junior champion Taiwo Matti came in at 12th and 64th in the U-17 and U-19 world rankings respectively.

According to the ITTF, the newly formed WTT Youth Series replaces the ITTF World Junior Circuit.

Portugal will host the first ever WTT Youth Series event, with the inaugural WTT Youth Contender to take place in Vila Real from 11 to 17 May. It will be the first youth event to be held since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.