Cadet players (U-15) across the country are expected in Lagos this week for the second edition of Dr. A.A. Efunkoya National Cadet Table Tennis Championships taking place at the National Stadium in Surulere.
The annual tournament is organized by Dr. A.A. Efunkoya Foundation with the aim of unearthing talents for the country.
According to the chairman of the Foundation, Babatunde Obisanya, the championship is meant to be an annual event, but the 2020 edition could not hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Though the pandemic is still lingering, albeit, at a much-reduced level, we have decided to go ahead with the tournament this year, while taking all the necessary precautions needed to keep all participants and spectators safe. There will be an appropriate use of face masks, hand sanitisers at the venue, and social distancing will be observed,” Obisanya.
The players are expected to arrive on November 17 while the event will kick off on November 18 as players battle for the top prize in the boys’ and girls’ events with finals on November 20.
“In line with Dr. Efunkoya’s strong emphasis on the need for young table tennis players to also focus on their education, and just like at the first edition of the tournament, there will be an educational scholarship for each of the winners in the boys’ and girls’ singles categories,” the former national coach said.
For Obisanya, the main objective of the tournament is to aid the discovery and nurturing of young table tennis talent in Nigeria, while he said that the Foundation provides a platform for former table tennis players, coaches, and officials who have played an active part in the history of the game in Nigeria, to interact and exchange ideas and reminiscences.
The late Efunkoya was a surgeon and medical practitioner who became involved in the administration of table tennis in 1962 and became the chairman of the then Nigeria Table Tennis Association in 1963.
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