N1m Up For Grabs At TJ’s Table Tennis Tourney

The sum of N1 million would be shared as
prize money at the maiden TJ National
Table Tennis championships scheduled
for between Sept. 16 and Sept. 21 in
Sango-Ota, Ogun.
The six-day championships, organised by
the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation
(NTTF) and sponsored byTJ’s Hotel, would
hold at TJ’s Hotel and Suites, Sango-Ota.
The competition manager, Kabir Ajibose,
told NAN on telephone that the
tournament would feature five categories,
but with much emphasis on the U-13
boys and girls’ players.
The other categories, he said, were the
men and women’s singles, as well as the
veteran’s categories.
“We included the U-13 cadet boys and
girls categories because we believe that
with more competitions, we will be able
to catch them young and the future can
be bright again,’’ Ajibose said.
He added that the competition was also
planned to keep the national players busy,
who, according to him, have become
redundant because of the absence of
regular competitions.
“There is a noticeable decline in Nigerian
table tennis because of lack of regular
competitions, as well as a sound
developmental programme that allow for
the early discovery of talents.
“This is a very strong indication that a lot
has gone wrong and we thought that
something needs to be done to arrest the
downward slide in table tennis,’’ he said.
Ajibose said that Nigeria players were in
the past, ranked among the top 50 in the
world, adding, however, that the story
had changed as Nigeria was no longer
ranked in Africa.
He pledged that the tournament would be
sustained to complement the efforts of
the Enitan-Oshodi led NTTF board. (NAN)

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