Fans and lovers of table tennis in Ogun State were not disappointed at the maiden Nana Table Tennis Closed Championship concluded on Wednesday at Alake Sports Centre, Ikeja, Abeokuta.
The two days ping pong event that served-off on Tuesday with about fifty players was sponsored by Mrs. Awawu Yekini of Nana Foundation in conjunction with Ogun State Table Tennis Association.
At the final day event were Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Dr. Kehinde Oludare, ably represented by Hon. Ayotunde Okunowo and Hon. Wale Shodeinde. Chief Mrs. Falilat Ogunkoya; Ogun State Sports Council Director of Sports, Mrs Folakemi Iyabode Rotimi and her management team, as well as invited guests of the chief sponsor of the event.
In the cadet girls singles, Karimat Kareem beat Bisola Kehinde to emerge winner while the duo of Janet Adebowale and Rachael Onashi were joint third.
Similarly, Joseph Bamgboye clinched the cadet boys cadre, thus beat Roqeeb Bisiriyu to second spot just as Shuaib Adisa and Abdulahi Olanrewaju settled for third place.
In the junior category, Module Babatunde won the girls cadre while Olawale Adeyanju picked the boys medal. Also, Moji Ajibike and Kola Aluko emerged victorious in the women’s and Men’s singles event respectively.
Speaking at the closing event, the sponsor of the program who was in diaspora made known through her sister, Mrs Azeezat Yetunde Rufai that the event would be done annually.
In her remarks, the director of sports thanked the sponsor of the event and all those that graced the closing ceremony, noting that it was no gainsaying that the sponsorship of the event is complimentary to the efforts of the state government to promoting sports at grassroots level.
“As you are quite aware, sports developments at any levels require financial resources which government alone cannot shoulder. It is a known fact that various sporting activities are private sector driven in developed world, while abundant talents in the developing countries cannot be harness due to lack of encouragement,” she said.
The initiator of the program, Mrs. Alaba Amusa and her colleagues expressed appreciations to all the invited guests.
The highlight of the event was presentation of trophies, medals, and other prizes to those who excelled at the championship, while all the players went home smiling with cash prices. Also, Mr. Alao Lawal used the occasion to present some worthy athletes with training snickers.
Moreover, former coaches, Toriola, and Emmanuel Kuye who happened to be the coach of the sponsor also graced the occasion and received cash rewards for their momentous service years.
