NAN
Ishaku Tikon, the President of Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF), on Saturday in Lagos promised to make the just-concluded National Junior League an annual event.
Tinkon told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) this was imperative in view of the brilliant performances displayed by players during the competition.
He said the move would create a sustainable platform for the players to consistently develop their skills.
The NTTF president said the league would also be used to establish a data bank for national ranking and a pool to identify players for international junior championships.
“The immediate-past NTTF board led by Wahid Enitan-Oshodi laid a good foundation, which has set a good take-off point for me, and our young players who are equally doing great.
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“I am overwhelmed by the skills displayed by these young and upcoming players, and it is my desire to help them improve through this league and other championships.
“The league is standard because it has been organised in line with the requirements of the international body, and it will keep our future stars abreast of development and in competition mood,” he said.
Tinkon added that he was impressed by the gesture extended to the league’s young players by foreign-based Nigerian players who were present during the competition’s finals, through various forms of support.
“The presence of foreign-based players such as Segun Toriola, Funke Oshonaike, Jide Omotayo, Omotara Ayo and others encouraged the players to put up spectacular performances at the event.’’
Tikon also lauded the national referees, led by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) umpire John Peters, for ensuring a hitch-free officiating during the nine-day competition.
NAN reports that 72 players featured in the event, which has a N1 million cash prize and was organised by the NTTF at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos.
The competition which began on July 27 ended on Saturday.