Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke will be the special guest at the grand finale of the 4th Michael & Felicia Alabi Memorial National Table Tennis Championships which ends on Friday, April 26 in Otan Ayegbaju in Osun State.
The Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) ranking event attracted record entries of 28 states this year with 14 events at stake at the five-day competition.
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, Ogun, Lagos and Kwara dominate most of the events till the final day as Ondo is hoping to catch up with the three top states.
Governor Adeleke was the special guest at the 2023 grand finale and he hopes to be there again this year as part of his efforts to support the organisers and reaffirmed the state government commitment to sports development in the state.
Apart from attending the finale, Governor Adeleke will commission the ultra modern Allykay accommodation facility built by the chairman of OSTTA, Ayodeji Alabi who is the major sponsor of the national competition in the last four years.
In the absence of the defending champions – Etim Orok and Hope Udoaka, new champions will emerge in the men’s and women’s singles as the battle for the cash prize and ranking points hots up at the finale.
Bose Odusanya of Lagos and Sukurat Aiyelabegan will face-off in the women’s singles final, while the winner between Jamiu Ayanwale of Rivers and Alaba Olanlege of Gombe will face the winner between Joshua Oladiran of Ondo and Wasiu Azeez of Oyo in the men’s singles final.
In the boys’ U-15, defending champion Victor Joseph of Kogi was beaten by Joseph Marvelous of Delta 3-2 (3-11, 8-11, 12-10, 12-10, 11-8) as Marvelous will take on Kwara’s Hussein Faruq in the final. In the girls’ singles, top seed Favour Ojo of Ondo will slug it out with Ese Onakpoberuo of Delta in the final.
