Top seeds at the 50th edition of the Asoju Oba Molade Okoya-Thomas Table Tennis Cup have advanced to the next stage of the competition, securing their place in the final eight.
In the men and women singles event, Olajide Omotayo and Bose Odusanya, qualified for the quarterfinals after they successfully outclassed their opponents in the first round of the cup. David Fayele and Nimota Aregbesola, both made it into the final eight on the back of their big win in the mixed doubles event of the championship.
Fayele and Aregbesola posted quite the thrilling performance against first-rated Omotayo and Tolu Durosimi-Etti, with an assertive 3-0 (11-5, 11-3, 11-9) win to lift this year’s trophy.
Coming after their victory, Fayele enthused that though the game was very challenging, it was well worth it.
“I feel so delighted and great winning this title with my partner. It was not really easy playing with our opponent but all the same I thank God for this great achievement,”
— Fayele
The family of the late sponsor of the competition has promised to make the grande finale of the 50th edition on Friday, November 30, 2018, a momentous one.
Speaking to the media, Deji Okoya-Thomas said that though the family does not have any immediate plans to make the competition national, it will not relent in its partnership with the Lagos state government to keep giving table tennis stars a chance to shine.
“This year being the golden jubilee is unique and the arrangement going into it is much more than that of last year and we hope this will translate into a memorable event. Fifty years is a very long time so the achievement of hosting this competition for that long must be well celebrated.”
— Deji Okoya-Thomas
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