Teenage sensations, Tobi Adebakin and Favour Ojo emerged as new champions of the fourth edition of the Adegboyega Efunkoya Cadet Table Tennis Championships at the National Stadium in Lagos on Sunday, The PUNCH reports.
The U-15 tournament had players drawn from 12 States and 36 clubs competing in five events – (singles, doubles, and mixed doubles).
To win the boys title, Adebakin dominated the final against Sodiq Adesanya with a convincing winning three sets (11-5, 11-7, 11-4) while Ojo also outclassed 2022 champion Aishat Rabiu with an overwhelming 3-0 (11-8, 11-5, 11-9) win to lift the title for the first time.
But Rabiu made up for her singles’ defeat to win the girls’ doubles title with Musbau Faisa while she also added the mixed doubles title with Adebakin to return home with two gold and one silver medals.
According to spokesperson of the Efunkoya Foundation, Ranti Lajide, the tournament would continue to grow in leaps and bounds.
“Our target this year was to focus on the girls, and we are indeed very happy that we are able to achieve that.
“We started by asking them to get into coaching clinics and career talks and we have been able to see less than 10 of the 64 girls that we can begin to put into practice and train them to represent Nigeria in another one year, particularly in the junior category.
“That was our target and we achieved it and that’s the joy of everyone on the board of the foundation. There have been calls now from our members in the diaspora that that target is consolidated. So, that’s our joy and I’m happy that we achieved that,” he said.
The annual is being bankrolled for former players and lovers of table tennis within and outside the country.
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