The ongoing Africa Junior Championships in Algeria ended on Saturday without Nigerian players participating because of lack of funds, a development they said was not helping their development.

The secretary, Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF), Segun Oguntade, who confirmed the development at the weekend on Thursday in Lagos, lamented that it had hampered the country’s performance.

Oguntade said that funds were not made available by the National Sports Commission (NSC) for the competition.

“Our players are not participating because the NSC did not approve funds and we did not get positive response from corporate bodies that we approached for assistance,’’ Oguntade said.

According to him, some of the countries that participated in the competition which began on April 9 in Staoueli are Nigeria’s rivals Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia and Congo-Brazzaville.

He added that regular participation of players in pro-tours and other competitions would help to sharpen their skills.

He said that preparing them for international competitions could be realised with the active support of sponsors.

Oguntadenoted that the responsibility of moving the sport forward could not be left for the NSC alone but required support from all sectors.

He said the players were enthusiastic about taking part in these competitions because they would give them the necessary exposure required to be champions.

“The performances of our players will improve, if only we can get assistance from sponsors to fund their trips and other logistics to pro-tours because we cannot rely on the government alone.

“International competitions are avenues for players to exhibit their skills and an opportunity for them to learn different techniques which will help their talents,’’ he said.