N1m up for grabs at TJ’s Table Tennis tourney
The sum of N1 million would be shared as prize money at the maiden TJ National Table Tennis championships scheduled for between Sept. 16 and Sept. 21 in Sango-Ota, Ogun.
The six-day championships, organised by the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) and sponsored byTJ's Hotel, would hold at TJ's Hotel and Suites, Sango-Ota.
The competition manager, Kabir Ajibose, told NAN on telephone that the tournament would feature five categories, but with much emphasis on the U-13 boys and girls' players.
The other categories, he said, were the men and women's singles, as well as the veteran's categories.
"We included the U-13 cadet boys and girls categories because we believe that with more competitions, we will be able to catch them young and the future can be bright again,'' Ajibose said.
He added that the competition was also planned to keep the national players busy, who, according to him, have become redundant because of the absence of regular competitions.
"There is a noticeable decline in Nigerian table tennis because of lack of regular competitions, as well as a sound developmental programme that allow for the early discovery of talents.
"This is a very strong indication that a lot has gone wrong and we thought that something needs to be done to arrest the downward slide in table tennis,'' he said.
Ajibose said that Nigeria players were in the past, ranked among the top 50 in the world, adding, however, that the story had changed as Nigeria was no longer ranked in Africa.
He pledged that the tournament would be sustained to complement the efforts of the Enitan-Oshodi led NTTF board.
The six-day championships, organised by the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) and sponsored byTJ's Hotel, would hold at TJ's Hotel and Suites, Sango-Ota.
The competition manager, Kabir Ajibose, told NAN on telephone that the tournament would feature five categories, but with much emphasis on the U-13 boys and girls' players.
The other categories, he said, were the men and women's singles, as well as the veteran's categories.
"We included the U-13 cadet boys and girls categories because we believe that with more competitions, we will be able to catch them young and the future can be bright again,'' Ajibose said.
He added that the competition was also planned to keep the national players busy, who, according to him, have become redundant because of the absence of regular competitions.
"There is a noticeable decline in Nigerian table tennis because of lack of regular competitions, as well as a sound developmental programme that allow for the early discovery of talents.
"This is a very strong indication that a lot has gone wrong and we thought that something needs to be done to arrest the downward slide in table tennis,'' he said.
Ajibose said that Nigeria players were in the past, ranked among the top 50 in the world, adding, however, that the story had changed as Nigeria was no longer ranked in Africa.
He pledged that the tournament would be sustained to complement the efforts of the Enitan-Oshodi led NTTF board.
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