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Tag: Fatimo Bello

  • Bello rules NTTF National Women Singles Open Championship

    Seventy-two hours after emerging as champion at the All African games trial, Fatimo Bello showed her quality to dominate the maiden Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) National Women Singles Open Championship concluded at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium.

    She fought her way into the final brushing aside the likes of national player, Cecilia Otu-Akpan as well as returnee Ganiat Aruna to set up a final clash against former junior champion – Tosim Oribamise.

    Despite not having the chance to compete in international tournaments like her opponent in the final – Oribamise, Bello made nonsense of the experience of her opponent.

    Oribamise who is considered to be Nigeria’s most travelled and experienced player in recent times, was no match to Bello who thrashed the Ekiti State-born Oribamise 4-0 (11 -7, 11-6, 11-8, 11-4) to cart home the N200,000 star prize money.

    An excited Bello said she is determined to make the Nigeria team to the 2019 All Africa Games in Morocco.

    “I’m very happy and excited about the victory. This is going to help me a lot because I won’t stop training and continue to work hard. Training is the key to my success and hopeful I will continue to win. I actually started training two months ago for the trials and this Women Singles championship and I was expecting to win, so it is not something surprising. As the first winner of this tournament which means I’m one of the best players in Nigeria, I will like to play abroad and do all my possible best if I get the opportunity. I’m looking forward to play for the National team and excel with the team,” she said.

    Read Also: NTTF names team for WJC, AJCC in Ghana

    The tournament sponsored by the NTTF President, Engineer Ishaku Tikon was to rate female players and select team for major championships and the NTTF boss admitted that the objectives of the tournament was achieved.

    “We have gotten the result of why we staged the competition. A new queen has emerged and the line-up according to their ranking have also been established, we are good to go and we are prepared to conquer Africa and we are on our way to dominate table tennis in the region,” Tikon said.

    For the former President of NTTF, Wahid Oshodi, the performance of the players was encouraging and with constant training and regular competitions, the players would be ready to compete with the best.

  • 48th Asoju Oba Molade-Okoya Thomas Cup: Odusanya retains title as Akanbi wins men’s singles

    48th Asoju Oba Molade-Okoya Thomas Cup: Odusanya retains title as Akanbi wins men’s singles

    From the start of the 48th Asoju Oba Molade-Okoya Thomas Cup, Bose Odusanya never bragged about her prowess. While most of her fellow competitors mouthed off their intention, it was Odusanya that laughed last at the weekend after the grand-finale of the oldest sporting tournament in Nigeria.
    Just like her rival – Tolu Durosimi-Etti who won the championship back-to-back in 2012 and 2013, Odusanya also claimed the title twice in a row after beating Fatimo Bello 4-2 in the women’s singles final, while junior sensation, Rilwan Akanbi won his first major championship in the men’s singles.
    Unlike Odusanya who never had any problem defeating her opponent in the final but Akanbi was stretched to the limit by Azeez Solanke in the men’s singles final.
    Akanbi and Solanke are part of Team Nigeria heading out to South Africa for the ITTF World Junior Championship, which serves off on Wednesday November 30 in Cape Town and they both stunned their senior counterparts to set up a final encounter.
    The match bore all the signs of a final and the fans and dignitaries had something to cheer throughout the encounter but it was Akanbi who emerged champion after a 4-3 win over southpaw Solanke.
    Akanbi said: “I’m very happy to win this tournament because for me, playing against Azeez Solanke was really a challenge. We are both junior players and just been promoted to play at the senior level. Before the match, I know it will be a 50-50 game because we have played some matches at the junior category and he is a very good player too. The level of competition is very good, every year we play this tournament and there is always improvement.”
    Odusanya said: “I’m very grateful for winning this title back-to-back because before the competition, I trained a lot and I want to thank God for crowning my effort. My final opponent, Fatimo Bello played very well and the game was very tight because we are in the same club. I was very determined but it was God that gave me this victory. I want to thank the family of late Sir Molade Okoya-Thomas Thomas for hosting this tournament and I hope they will relent but continue to sponsor it.”

  • 48th Asoju Oba Molade Okoya-Thomas ends in style

    48th Asoju Oba Molade Okoya-Thomas ends in style

    As curtain draws on the 48th Asoju Oba Molade Okoya-Thomas Cup today at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, the annual championship will end in grand style as new champions are expected to emerge in 18 categories.
    For five days, the players across Lagos State have been battling one another in order to be part of the mouthwatering prize money at stake.
    From the cadet to junior players, the venues are daily besieged by players drawn from schools and clubs aiming to make the podium at the championship.
    One of the two Nigeria’s International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF)-certified umpires, John Peters described the turnout for this year’s championship as very encouraging, as more players are eager to emulate the exploits of Aruna Quadri and Segun Toriola.
    Peters, who was one of the umpires that handled proceedings at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil told NationSport that the performance of Aruna Quadri in Rio had sparked interest in the sport.
      “I must tell that since I have been officiating this competition in the last four decades, this year’s turnout had been quite impressive particularly in the cadet division. We have more schools and clubs competing in the competition, while the senior players were not left out of the championship. I must say that the performance of Aruna Quadri in Brazil has ignited the interest of the players and we have more of them trying to emulate Quadri. This is good for the sport and we hope we can discover more ‘Quadris’ from this championship,” Peters said.
    Meanwhile, the final of the men and women singles events will be the climax of today’s event as new winners are expected to emerge.

  • Oyetayo stuns Jamiu as Otu-Akpan claims singles titles

    Oyetayo stuns Jamiu as Otu-Akpan claims singles titles

    The best of table tennis was on display at the weekend at the maiden Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) National Championships as Sola Oyetayo rallied from 0-3 down to stun Azeez Jamiu, to claim the men’s singles title.
    The colourful final was well-attended by dignitaries across the country include Director, Grassroots Sports of Ministry of Youth and Sports, Demola Are as well as proprietor of Nath FC of Lagos, Yemi Idowu and to their expectations, the tournament lived up to its billing.
    From the outcome of the men’s singles final, it was obvious that the country is blessed with abundant talents, while the comeback of the Sola Oyetayo was the climax of the championship.
    From the start of the encounter, it was as if Azeez Jamiu was in the driver seat racing to a 3-0 lead. But a sheer determination coupled with his calmness became the joker for Oyetayo, as the player rallied from 0-3 down to win at 4-3 to the admiration of the fans and dignitaries who enjoyed every moment of the encounter.
    Member of the female national team, Cecilia Otu-Akpan displayed her skill against Fatimo Bello as the Cross River-based star defeated the Lagos’ Bello 4-0 to claim the women singles titles.
    For her feat in junior and senior events, Ajoke Ojomu was adjudged the most valuable female player of the competition with cash reward to show for her efforts.
    Ojomu, a member of Abuja-based G20 team claimed the women and junior girls’ team titles at the five-day tournament held at the Indoor Hall of the National Stadium.
    According to the Tournament Director, John Peters, the tournament would surely help members of the Nigeria junior team going to the 2016 ITTF World Junior Championships holding in South Africa later this month. “The championships served as a final training session for our South Africa- bound junior players. Happily, the young lads and lasses lived up to expectations. They not only won several prizes, but also won awards as the players of the championships in both female and male categories. The organisation was super and praise worthy. I wish our ambassadors to the ITTF Junior World championships a good outing. I must also give kudos to the NTTF President, Wahid Oshodi for rallying his friends to sponsor the competition. I call on al lovers of table tennis in Nigeria to support him to ensure that there are top performing players to succeed the Toriolas, the Oshonnaikes and the Arunas when they retire,” Peters said.

  • Omotayo leads seven qualifiers to ITTF Nigeria Open

    Former national junior champion, Olajide Omotayo confirmed his superiority in the men’s event after emerging as overall winner in the qualifiers for the 2016 ITTF World Tour tagged Nigerian Open.

    Omotayo was in fine form against over 106 competitors at the two-day tournament while his unbeaten run continued till the final match against Kazeem Makanjuola.

    Like a true champion, Omotayo threw caution to the wind in the final match against Makanjuola as he dealt with his more experienced opponent with a 4-0 to emerge as the overall champion.

    Apart from Omotayo and Makanjuola, other players that made it to the top four finish are Oladele Kehinde and Akanbi Rilwan.

    In the women event, Tosin Oribamishe and Fatimo Bello were finalists while the top four finish was completed with the inclusion of Bose Odusanya and Nimota Aregbesola.

    Over 106 men and 48 women took part in the qualifiers for the ITTF Nigeria Open scheduled for May 18 to 22 at the Teslim Balogun Stadium.