Sodiq Adesanya, Anuoluwapo Ajuwon and Jamiu Ayanwale were winners at the maiden Reis Table Tennis Tournament held at the Oba of Lagos Sports Hall, Eko Club, Surulere, Lagos.
In the cadet category, Sodiq Adesanya defeated Hussein Adeboye 10-12, 11-1, 9-11, 11-8, 11-6 (3-2), while Anuoluwapo Ajuwon stopped Bisola Asaju 6-11, 13-11, 11-9, 11-7, 12-14, 11-7 (4-2) in the women’s singles, just as Jamiu Ayanwale thumped Hammed Bello 11-9, 11-9, 5-11, 11-4, 11-5, 5-11, 11-9 (4-3) in the men’s singles.
Bambo Badejo defeated Abayomi Oyerinde to claim the title in the veterans’ classification, while Bashir Omooba and Sulaiman Bada finished joint third.
Speaking at the event, sponsor and Chairman of Reis Table Tennis Foundation, Olaseni Reis, said he was inspired to stage the event to give youngsters support to develop their talents.
“We had about 168 players, who took part in the championship at the preliminaries in five categories. We had the cadet, men, women singles and in the veterans. There was a category for the Eko Club members, who gave us the facility for the competition,” he said.
On the motivation for the event, Reis said: “The reason we started the tournament was because I played with the youngsters, who I discovered are talented.
“And the truth is that these boys do not have the resources to pursue their careers, hence we decided to assist them by organising the maiden competition.
“Already, we have adopted five players that will be given kits worth N250, 000 yearly and we plan to sponsor them to tournaments in addition to organising table tennis championships for them at least twice a year, just to help develop their talents. We are hoping that the next edition will be bigger than this,” he stated.