Satsuki Odo (Photo WTT)
One champion has successfully defended, while the other has been dethroned with Anders Lind and Satsuki Odo taking home the singles titles at WTT Contender Lagos table tennis championships.
Defending champion Honoka Hashimoto missed out on back-to-back successes in Lagos, with Satsuki Odo packing too much power to claim a 11-3, 5-11, 11-3, 11-6, 11-4 final victory.
Hashimoto dropped just one game on her way to the title in 2025, and had navigated her way to this year’s final off the back of four consecutive straight-game victories.
However, she was second best for large parts of Sunday’s final as Odo brought her brand of heavy-metal table tennis right from game one, breaking through the defensive wall that stood opposite her to get her hands on her third WTT Series title of the season.
While we saw a changing of the guard in the women’s singles final, a familiar figure laid claim to the men’s singles honours at Sir Molade Okoya Thomas Indoor Sports Hall, with Anders Lind taking home the title again.
Lind, who required three match-point saves in the opening round, before being taken the distance again in the semifinals, knew he’d have his work cut out for him on Sunday evening, with former WTT Star Contender event winner Oh Jun-sung awaiting.
While the Korean star certainly made Lind work for it, the latter player knew what it took to get the job done in Lagos and that ultimately tilted the title race in his favour, enjoying the better of a five-game showdown 11-6, 11-9, 11-5, 10-12, 11-8 to retain his status as champion.
In the mixed doubles champion Manush Shah got his hands on winner’s hardware for the second time this week, partnering Manav Thakkar to men’s doubles success as the Indian duo beat Iulian Chirita-Andrei Istrate 11-7, 12-10, 11-4.
Meanwhile, there was a surprise end to the women’s doubles event as first-time pairing Joo Cheonhui and Reina Aso upstaged top seeds Saki Shibata-Hitomi Sato 1-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-4 to strike glory on their debut as a combination.
