Abdulrahaman Olanrewaju and Goke Adediran emerged winners of their categories in the maiden edition of UPDC Hotels/Golden Tulip Squash series, which rounded off on Saturday with thrilling matches.
In the Professional Men category, Abdulrahaman pulled an upset when he defeated national No.2 ranked Sodiq Taiwo to win the coveted prize in a pulsating encounter that drew cheering ovation from the appreciative crowd.
While, in the ‘Club Invitational Tournament’, Goke – representing Ikoyi Club, relied on experience, footwork and deceptive movements to overpower Ramsey Noah, who represented Eagle Club.
The Nollywood actor, who only few years ago started playing the game of squash, ruffled many feathers when he shocked-out some more experienced players all through the knock-out stages up till the final.
In the final, however he got his match in Goke whose powerful shots and sheer body movements obviously confounded the Nollywood star. It was the first time they were meeting in any tournament.
“Ramsey is a professional actor, so I just felt this is my domain; he shouldn’t come here to beat me because I may not defeat him in his own field,” Goke reacted after collecting his cash prize and some squash equipment.
Ramsey paid tribute to his conqueror and said: “Goke is quite deceptive with his movements and style. Sometimes, he plays lackadaisically, like he wasn’t going to reach the ball and before you know it, he is there hitting it hard. It is my first time playing against him and I’ve learnt that one must be on his toes all through the game to stand up against him.
“Hopefully, next time I will catch up with him. His style is quite different. When you find people like that in the court, you must go back to re-strategise and that’s what I am going to do. He is very deceptive with his strokes and with his movements. You can’t predict him.”
Earlier on, participants witnessed the commissioning of state-of-the-art fitness centre at the hotel by Mr. Bankole Opashi – MD, Bodyline Fitness & Gym.
