All eyes will be on Lagos ping ponger, Mathew Kuti, the defending Champion of the Africa Table Tennis invitational tournament as the annual competition serves off in Abeokuta on Saturday (today).
The African Table Tennis Players in Diaspora are the organisers of the event, a year-ending invitational tournament scheduled to take place between December 27 and 29.
In the past one week, Kuti, the West African Junior Table Tennis Champion, has won two tournaments.
Less than a week ago, he emerged the winner of the 3rd Daniel Ford U-19 Tournament and only on Friday he also won the 11th Elicris Table Tennis Cup, held on Tuesday, at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall, Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos.
Kuti is one of the players expected to be at the Alake Sports Centre, the venue of the tournament, which will see 25 players battle for honours with close to N1m set aside as cash prizes.
The coordinator of the tournament, Wale Ajetunmobi, told newsmen that there were high stakes in this edition of the competition.
“We want the players to have a good festive atmosphere to end the year. It is also a way of entertaining the table tennis fans in the ancient city of Abeokuta,” Ajetunmobi said.
One of the officials of the African Table Tennis players in Diaspora, Mr Charles Olayinka, said there were plans to take the competition to the next level in the years ahead.
Other players invited for the event apart from Kuti include, Abudulfatai Abdulbasit (Kwara State), Adegoke Muiz ( Lagos State) Fabunmi Mattew ( Kwara State), Ayanwale Jamiu (Oyo State), Azeez Wasiu ( Oyo State), Sanni Abdulrahman( Edo State), Akanbi Rilwan ( NSCDC ) (Oladiran Joshua ( Ondo State), Oladipupo Olayinka (NPF ), Oladele Kehinde (NPF), Lawal Amidu (Nigeria Army) Fayele David ( Nigeria Army), Akinyemi Adebowale ( Edo State), Yunus Idowu (River State), Agunbiade Sultan ( Aruna Club), Adebakin Tobi ( Lagos State) and Atunwon Quadri ( Aruna Club).
