Africa’s oldest table tennis tournament, the annual Asoju Oba Molade Okoya-Thomas Cup will kick off on December 1 at the indoor hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos.
The tournament which has continually churned out talents for the country will have players competing in nine events this year with Bose Odusanya aiming to exceed her record in the Women’s Singles.
Speaking at the press briefing to herald the commencement of the tournament, Deji Okoya-Thomas said the valuable contribution of the tournament cannot be underestimated.
“If there was any doubt in the value this championship has brought to the game of table tennis in Nigeria, we just must take a look at the story of Olajide Omotayo, the winner of the 45th edition of the Men’s singles, who carted away a brand-new car.
“He is today a member of the Nigeria Men’s Table Tennis team and 2019 African Games Champion. He started by competing in the Cadet category of the Championship, went on to the Junior category and all the way to the Senior category. He presently plays professionally in France. He is one of many who have used this competition as a platform to a successful career,” Okoya-Thomas recalled.
For this year, he said: “We are grateful to God that as a family we have been enabled by God through his blessings to continue with the sponsorship. We are still in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic so we will have a reduced number of titles to compete for.”
In view of this, nine titles will be competed for this year and they, singles (men and women), doubles (men and women), mixed doubles, para singles standing (men and women), para singles sitting (men and women).
The 53rd edition of the championship this year will be held from December 1st to 7th.
