Prove Your Mettle, Coach Challenges T/Tennis Players

The Head Coach, Nige
ria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF), Nosiru Bello has advised the eight junior players provided chances to play in the senior category to strive to live up to expectation.
They are: Jide Omotayo, Kehinde Awobajo, Sunday Ayodele and Sukanmi Oginni, and Tosin Oribamise, Iyabo Hammed, Agnes Onoja and Nurat Ojomu, for the boys and girls categories respectively.
Bello told newsmen at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall, Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos, that the players were being given the opportunity to encourage them to improve on their skills.
“These players are not going directly into the main chart. I want them to play elimination matches in the men and women categories.
“If they qualify at this stage, they will represent the country in the men and women singles events at the maiden Lagos International Table Tennis Classics.
“If they fail to qualify, they will represent the country in the junior event, in order to encourage them to move up the cadre,” he said.
No fewer than 128 men and 48 women took part in the qualifiers, which  ended on August 23, and the coach said that the players with the highest points in each group  secured a place in the main draws.
The women singles event was drawn into 16 groups, while the boys and girls junior events were drawn into eight groups respectively.
The maiden Lagos International Table Tennis Classics is scheduled to hold from today to Saturday in Lagos.