First Daniel Ford table tennis championships serves off in Lagos

Table-tennis

The festive season continues to get merrier for national table tennis players as a new championship, First Daniel Ford Youth Invitational National Championship, has entered the fray.

The players, who are just coming off the Molade Okoya-Thomas Cup, which ended on Wednesday, returned to the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos, Nigeria, yesterday, for the two-day tournament sponsored by UK-based property firm, Daniel Ford International in conjunction with the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF).

According to the organisers, the aim of this competition is to unearth fresh talents and contribute to the growth of table tennis in the country.

Top players across the country in the U-15 and U-19 age brackets for boys and girls will compete for honours at the championships.

NTTF Vice President, Adesoji Tayo, said the tournament would afford the federation opportunity to select teams for major competitions in 2024, as well as pick players that will be groomed to team up with the national senior team for next year’s major competitions like the African Games and Championships.

“We are excited that someone has identified with the ideals of the federation at supporting youth development with special focus on our junior players. We must commend his interest and passion in our sport, and we hope others will follow.”

“The federation will use the tournament to assemble our teams for major junior tournaments next year, while some of the players will be invited to senior national camps ahead of major competitions in 2024. We need to get our young players competing at top level as this is what obtains globally for now. The world number two is just 18 years old and ours should not be an exception,” Tayo