Jamiu Ayanwale of Rivers and Sukurat Aiyelabegan were flawless in their triumph at the 4^th Michael & Felicia Alabi Memorial National Table Tennis Championships which ended in Ota Ayegbaju in Osun State at the weekend.

The five-day tournament has been upgraded to a ranking event by the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) and was organised by the Osun State Table Tennis Association (OSTTA) with support from Michael & Felicia Alabi Memorial Foundation and Canada-based Jodal Health Care.

Earlier in the day, Delta’s Ese Onakpoberuo had beaten Favour Ojo of Ondo 3-2 (11-7, 5-11, 11-3, 7-11, 11-4) to emerge winner in the girls’ U-15 while Kwara’s Hussein Faruq of Kwara defeated Joseph Marvelous of Delta 3-1 (8-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-6) to win the boys’ event.

Players from 28 states featured in this year’s event being the record entries from the previous editions and the tournament lived up to expectation with some tops seeds exiting early in the championships as number three seed Emmanuel Augustine of Lagos was shown the door by unseeded Mustapha Mustaph of Borno in the round of 16, while Joshua Oladiran of Ondo, who was 2023 runner’s up was bundled out by unseeded Wasiu Azeez of Oyo in the semifinal of the men’s singles.

In his quest to lift the men’s singles title, Ayanwale was unmatched from the knockout stage to the final where he also dominated Oyo’s Azeez with a commanding 4-1 (11-4, 11-6, 11-4, 9-11, 11-6) to win the tournament for the first time.

Like Ayanwale, Aiyelabegan continued her dominance over Lagos State champion Bose Odusanya with an overwhelming 4-0 (11-8, 11-8, 11-5, 11-8) to be crowned the women’s singles champion.

OSTTA Chairman and sponsor of the tournament Ayodeji Alabi lauded the players for putting up a good display while pledging his commitment to continue to improve the standard of the tournament annually.

“I am very grateful for another opportunity to host this tournament again and I am happy that at last, it has become a ranking event for all Nigerian players based on the sanction by NTTF. I hope and believe we can produce the next Quadri Aruna from this tournament, and it will afford us the opportunity to sharpen the skills of the players for major international competitions,” he said.

Alabi, however, hailed Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun for his commitment for sports development, adding that since inception the tournament has been receiving the support of the state government.

The battle for podium finish among the top seeds will begin on Thursday, April 25, at the 4th Michael & Felicia Alabi Memorial National Table Tennis Championships taking place in Otan Ayegbaju in Osun State.

The annual tournament is organised by the Osun State Table Tennis Association (OSTTA) with support from the Michael and Felicia Alabi Memorial Foundation and Canada-based Jodal Health Care with over 28 states competing in 14 events.

The tournament is a ranking event by the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) as the results will be used for national ranking for 2024.

Number one seeds in men and women singles – Akinwale Fagbamila of Ondo and  Bisola Asaju of Rivers will taste action while other top seeds will also be in action.

A determined Fagbamila has said that he is in Osun to take home the highest prize ahead of others. “There is no doubt that this tournament has continued to improve every year with new players coming on board. But nothing can stop me from clinching the gold medal for my state because I have trained well and I will put all my hardwork to action when the matches begin,” Akinwale said.

Commonwealth Games medalist Isau Ogunkunle who claimed the first gold medal for Ogun State at the tournament has hailed the sponsors for keeping faith with the staging of the tournament. “I must commend the sponsors for what he is doing because the hospitality coupled with the good organisation put in place at the venue has made the tournament more exciting for the players. We need such competitions all over the country and for me, this is another opportunity to show what I can do and I hope I can return next year to retain my title,” the Paris Paralympic Games-bound athlete said.

Already, winners have been decided in seven events with Lagos, Ogun and Kwara leading the medal table with two gold medals each. Ondo won one gold medal as well.

From the way things are panning out at the 4^th Michael & Felicia Alabi Memorial National Table Tennis Championships, it is obvious that the players are not ready to concede defeats to themselves as top seed Amadi Umeh affirmed his intention to clinch another national title in Otan Ayegbaju, Osun State.

Also, Akinwale Fagbamila and Augustine Emmanuel are battle ready to stun Umeh, whose national team experience will come to the fore when the main draws (round of 16) kick off on Wednesday, April 24.

The annual tournament, which has been upgraded to a national ranking event by the national table tennis ruling body, the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF), is organised by the Osun State Table Tennis Association (OSTTA) with support from the Michael & Felicia Alabi Memorial Foundation as well as Canada-based Jodal Health Care had players from 28 states across the country competing in 14 events.

Also, the finals of the deaf and para events will take centre stage as dignitaries across Osun are expected to grace the event as a build-up to the grand finale on Friday, April 26.

Umeh, who won one of the national tournaments in 2023 and was part of the national team for the 13^th African Games, believes he would be unstoppable in the men’s singles. “I don’t see anyone stopping me here because I am familiar with most of them, and they are no match for me. But I will not underrate them, as I am here for business, which is to take home the grand prize. I must also commend the sponsors for raising the standard of the tournament this year because the organisation has been much better than the previous editions,” the Edo State star said.

But the duo of Fagbamila and Emmanuel are ready to rock the boat with Umeh when the main draws take off.

In the women’s singles, top seed Bisola Asaju will contend with Sukurat Aiyelabegan, who has a national title to her credit, and it promises to be exciting when both players try to fend off other contenders from clinching the title.