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MUSTAPHA MUSA: NIGERIA OPEN YOUNGEST PLAYER BUT WITH TALLEST AMBITION

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BY OLATOSIMI FADAHUNSI.

“I have all it takes to win the Nigerian Open in the future”, says nine-year old Mustapha Musa, the youngest player at the 2018 ITTF Nigeria Open, who is in the tournament with his elder brother, Mustapha Mustapha.

The ambitious siblings are from Borno State and are determined to make marks in sports. As the ITTF Nigeria Open begins in Lagos, Musa said he had all it takes to win the competition in the future.

Even though he has lost the first of his two group games, the young player with a lion’s heart is undeterred. He told www.sportsvillagesquare.com after he lost 3-0 (11-3, 11-6, 11-2) to Falana Tobi in the Men’s singles U-21 Category, that he was preparing to win the competition in the future.

Musa Mustapha (nine years old) and Mustapha Mustapha (10 years old)

   “I am nine-year-old and I have been playing table tennis since 2017.  I have all it takes to win the championship in the future.

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He sees Japan’s Harimoto Tomokazu, the world number six as he role model. Also competing in the table tennis showcase is his elder brother, the 10-year old  Musa’s elder brother Mustapha Mustapha, who as well lost in three straight (11-3, 11-2, 11-8) to Augustine Emmanuel.

Mustapha revealed that their father Mustapha Saheed, a former table tennis player brought them from Abuja to compete at the championship in Lagos.

He said after his loss, “We began playing table tennis in 2017. This is our first international tournament and we have learnt a lot even though we lost our first group matches.

The older Mustapha has China’s Timo as his role model.

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Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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