TJ Hotel and Suites will host the country at its first National Table Tennis Championship between 16th and 21st September. The event, titled ‘TJ’s National Open Table Tennis Championship’, has the backing of the Nigerian Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) and offers a winner’s prize money of N1 million.
The Competition Manager, Mr. Kabril Ajibose, said, “There is a noticeable decline in Nigerian table tennis since the turn of the century and this can be attributed to various reasons and prominent among them is lack of regular competition as well as a sound developmental programme that allows for early discovery of talents.”
“We have included the Under-13 (Cadet) boys and girls category and we believe that with more competition and a catch-them-young approach, the future can be bright again. Gone were the days when we used to have the Bournvita Top-16 Classics and even the Coca Cola International Classics as well. We had Nigerian players among the Top 50 in the world, but now the story has changed. We are not even number one in Africa again. This is a very strong indication that a lot has gone wrong.”
The event, according to the organisers, will “feature players in Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, Cadet (Under-13) Boys and Girls with the top 16 in each category going home with cash prizes.”
