Kwara table tennis sensation, Abdulbasit Abdulfatai has narrated how he used his father’s sporting business to learn and improve his table tennis skills that got him where he is today.
The 18-year-old from Adeta in Ilọrin West Local Government area told Daily Trust during a chat that he has won three tournaments this year within and outside the country.
According to him, “I picked interest in table tennis because my dad has a tennis board outside our house where people come to play as a business though he is not a good player.
“After sometime around 2918, I decided to go professional and started going to the stadium where the coach told me that I can make it in tennis if I am determined. The rest as they say is not history”.
Abdulbasit, a Mass Communication student of Kwara State Polytechnic said combining sports with studies is not easy but needs sacrifices adding that “I still go to the stadium for training even during exams before I return home after my paper”.
He said “The easiest way to combine both as a teenager or youth is to explore online opportunities.
“Here, nothing is structured because of the country we find ourselves in, unlike in other advanced countries. You should have time for it and not just do it anyhow like me because of.
“It is painful because inside you, you know you can do it but there is not enough good equipment which negatively impacts your game,” he said.
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