Jamiu Ayanwale of Rivers and Sukurat Aiyelabegan have emerged as the winners of the National Table Tennis Championships in Osun.
The duo who were hard to defeat showcased their prowess to emerge champions in both the male and female singles categories.
Ayanwale recorded 4-1 (11-4, 11-6, 11-4, 9-11, 11-6) against Azeez from Oyo to win the tournament for the first time while Aiyelabegan overpowered Lagos’ Bose Odusanya with an overwhelming 4-0 (11-8, 11-8, 11-5, 11-8) to be crowned the women’s singles champion.
Their victories attest to the daunting task during the five-day tournament organised by the Osun State Table Tennis Association (OSTTA) with support from Michael & Felicia Alabi Memorial Foundation and Canada-based Jodal Health Care which unveiled surprises, triggered emotions and unpack upset among players across the 28 states.
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The upset saw unseeded players bundled out tops seeds 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 shown the evicted by unseeded Wasiu Azeez of Oyo in the semifinal of the men’s singles.
Other winners include Delta’s Ese Onakpoberuo who won 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.
