Tag: Table Tennis tourney

The inaugural North Central Boys and Girls Table Tennis Championship has  kicked off at the Abuja Sports Complex, Old Parade Ground, Area 10, with 48 young athletes competing for honours and a share of the prize money.

The two-day tournament, fully sponsored by Barrister Hamidu Ali Ibrahim, features 24 boys and 24 girls vying for top spots in three categories: Singles, Doubles, and Mixed Doubles.

Matches in the Singles category began at 11:00 am yesterday at the Indoor Sports Hall, progressing from the first round through to the quarterfinals. The finals are scheduled to take place today. The Doubles also commenced yesterday and today the semifinals will also be played.

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Winners in the Singles event will receive a cash prize of ₦150,000, while the first runner-up and third-place finisher will take home ₦100,000 and ₦50,000 respectively.

In the Doubles category, the champions will earn ₦100,000, with second and third place receiving ₦70,000 and ₦50,000 respectively.

In addition to the prize money, Barrister Ibrahim has covered the accommodation, feeding, and transportation costs for all participants, further underlining his commitment to grassroots sports development.

The championship is aimed at discovering and nurturing young talents in the North Central region, while promoting the growth of table tennis among youth in Nigeria.

Faruq Hussien of Kwara and Sezuo Ize of Kogi  over the weekend emerged as new champions at  5th  Adegboyega Ekunkoya National Cadet Table Tennis Championship in Lagos.

Organized by the Efunkoya Table Tennis Foundation in collaboration with the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) aimed to produce future stars that will replace ageing players in the national teams.

To claim the boys’ singles title, number two seed, Hussein started his campaign from the group stage where he was unbeaten and defeated Yusuf Solomon of Aruna Sports Club 3-1 (11- 7, 9-11, 11-7, 11-30 to be crowned the new champion.

Ize on the other hand,  played her best in the semifinal when she edged out former champion Aishat Rabiu of Lagos and completed her dominance in the final when she thrashed Chineye Okafor of Abia State 3-0 (13-11, 12-10, 13-11) to win her maiden national title.

Both  Hussein and Ize were awarded educational scholarships as well as brand-new laptops by the Efunkoya Foundation while other winners in the doubles and mixed doubles got cash prizes for their victories.

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Awards like the youngest player, most behaved player, youngest players, the most improved player as well as Most Valuable Players were given to winners by the organisers.

For the Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotosho, the tournament has thrown up new stars. He, however, called for more tournaments to sharpen the skills of the players as well as expose them to international tournaments.

The event is staged annually by Ekunkoya Table Tennis Foundation to honour the memory of the former Chairman of the Nigeria Table Tennis Association chairman, Dr. Adegboyega Efunkoya, whose administration was regarded as the glorious days of table tennis in Nigeria, while the tournament was designed to promote the sport and raise future stars.