Fayele, Adegoke in battle royale as Okoya-Thomas Cup ends today

Former champions, Hamed Adeyinka, Rilwan Akanbi, David Fayele and Muiz Adegoke have made the final battle for the coveted trophy at the 55th Molade Okoya-Thomas Table Tennis Cup, which ends today at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos.

From the men’s singles to the women’s singles, there were no upsets in the preliminary rounds as the former champions outclassed their younger challengers in the race to final battles for the title.

Adeyinka, who claimed the men’s singles title in 2015, 2016, and 2018, believes he has the chance to reclaim the title after five years. “It is certain that I can win the title, but I must confess that the young players are really playing well, and I hope I can use my experience to my own advantage when I confront any of them.

“There is no doubt the tournament has really improved tremendously with the quality of displays from the young players. I look forward to making it to the final and I hope I can do the impossible against some of the finest players in Lagos State,” Adeyinka said.

Tournament referee, John Peters, has lauded the family of the late Okoya-Thomas for their steadfastness in staging the tournament without let years after the demise of the founder of the competition.

“I am happy that the family has remained committed to the tournament and I hope we will play more of it in future. This year’s tournament has really shown that we have the players that can take over from the likes of Quadri Aruna and Olajide Omotayo because they are playing modern table tennis with their style of play and I hope our coaches are also hunting for talents that they can nurture to stardom,” Peters said.

The finals will be chaired by the Chief Operating Officer of the African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF), Kweku