The third edition of the Dr. A.A. Efunkoya National Junior Table Tennis Championships will begin on Thursday, September 29 to October 1, at the National Stadium in Surulere.
The championships is organised by the Dr. A.A. Efunkoya Foundation with the aim of unearthing talents for the country.
Athletes from across the country are expected to arrive on Wednesday to compete at the three-day tournament which has helped to unearth talents for the national junior teams.
According to the organisers, the yearly contest has been in line with the ideals of the late Efunkoya, whose era as the President of the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) unearthed stars for the country.
The organisers said Efunkoya’s strong emphasis on the need for young table tennis players to also focus on their education has inspired them to provide an educational scholarship for each of the winners in the boys’ and girls’ singles categories.
There are strong indications that more players would be part of the tournament following the exceptional performance of the boys’ singles Matthew Kuti at the 2022 African Youth Championships in Tunis where the Lagos State-born athlete dazzled the continent with his scintillating skills.
To encourage more players to be part of the tournament, the organisers would be providing accommodation and feeding for most of the participants as five titles would be at stake and they are singles (boys and girls), doubles (boys and girls), and mixed doubles events.
The annual is being bankrolled for former players and lovers of table tennis within and outside the country.
The late Efunkoya was a surgeon and medical practitioner, who became involved in the administration of table tennis in 1962 and he was elected the Chairman of the then Nigeria Table Tennis Association in 1963.
