The annual Asoju Oba Table Tennis Cup has been rechristened Molade Okoya-Thomas Table Tennis Championship from the 54th edition of the longest sports tournament in the country which serves off on Tuesday December 27 at the Teslim Balogun Stadium.
Also, men’s singles defending champion Rilwan Akanbi is targeting his third title this year having won the 2016 and 2021 edition of the competition.
Speaking at the press conference to unveil plans for this year’s championships, Deji Okoya-Thomas said the decision to rename the tournament after the initiator was based on family decision.
“The family decided to name the tournament after the initiator of the tournament because the former name was a title given to him while he was alive and since his demise, the title has been given to someone else, so it is pertinent that the family use his name for the tournament which has remained the longest sports competition in Nigeria,” he said.
He added: “The staging of the tournament every year is in fulfilment of the wish of the initiator, and we thank God that we have been able to follow his wish by God’s grace and we pray that God will give us the enablement to continue this noble legacy as this is the seventh year running since he was called to glory.
Highlighting the gains of the tournament, Okoya-Thomas said: “We cannot but acknowledge the impact the tournament has had on the fortune of the sport in the country. Some of its products have become global stars.
an obvious example is Olajide Omotayo who has become an integral part of the national team and 2019 African Games champion.
“Of recent is the exploits of teenage sensation Matthew Kuti who was impressive in his maiden outing at the African Youth Championship in Tunisia while his performance at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Youth Contender in Cairo, Egypt where he claimed the U-11 and U-13 titles are confirmation of the impact the tournament has had on the players.”
On the category of events for this year, he said: “Only the senior category will be at stake given the available time. We have women’s and men’s singles, doubles and mixed doubles. Para-table tennis will also be competing for the eighth time this year. the administrator’s singles event will also be competed for, so also is the coaches’ singles.”
For the Director, Sports Development, Lagos State Sports Commission (LSSC) Kolawole Moses, the state would continue to support the tournament as it has continued to help unearth talents for the state and the country at large.
Vice President, International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Wahid Oshodi, the family must be commended for keeping faith with the tournament while hoping that more stars would come through the tournament.
The tournament begins on Tuesday December 27 to 29 for the preliminaries, while the grand finale takes place on Friday, December 30 at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium.
