T’tennis Players Battle for N4.5m at NTTF National Championships

By Femi Solaja

The quest for honours at the National Table Tennis Championships begins today at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium as players’ battle for glory in their respective categories.

In all, there is N4.5m prize money for the five-day event and all the players for the event are already in town and have been certified fit through Covid-19 tests carried out on all the players.

At the press briefing to herald the tournament, the Tournament Director, Adesoji Tayo said the aim of the competition was to continue the momentum which started from the 20th National Sports Festival to the concluded 14th Aso Cup held in Abuja.

He said that over 300 players will compete in the five-day championships which will end on Saturday, May 22.

“We are aware of the quality of play in Edo and Abuja and for us, we want to continue to raise the bar by staging the national tournament so that our players can showcase their talents for the national handlers to identify them.

“I promise you it is going to be explosive as players will compete in 12 events in cadet, U-21, senior, and veterans. The icing on the cake is the total purse for the champion which for us will motivate the players to want to go for the top prize. Also, we are going to ensure that Covid-19 protocol is adhered to throughout the tournament,” he said.

According to the Chairman, NTTF Caretaker Committee, Ishaku Tikon, the tournament is one of the events being organised by the federation to engage the players with the aim to unearth talents for the country.