As the time for curtains to fall on the 2021 Nigeria Table Tennis Federation, NTTF, national championship draws closer, the strong contenders for the top prizes in the singles event are beginning to talk tough.
The national championship which started on Tuesday with over 350 players in different categories will end on Saturday, May 22.
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Although winners will emerge in the U-21 and doubles events today, all eyes will be on Fatimo Bello and Bose Odunsanya who have an axe to grind with each other in the ladies singles event.
Undoubtedly, the battle for the ladies singles event will be between Bello, the National Sports Festival champion and six-time Asoju Oba Cup champion Bose Odusanya of Lagos.
A determined Bello said that she is not ready to surrender her title in Lagos having dominated the women’s singles in Edo and Abuja tournaments recently.
However, Odusanya believes her performance in the team event has shown that she is a contender for the title. “I think my performance in the team event final has boosted my confidence going into the singles event. There is no doubt that there are a lot of good players but I am sure that I can brave the odds and finish very well in the tournament,” the Lagos State champion said.
Furthermore, number one seed in the men’s singles Taiwo Mati of Ondo showed his class against his fierce rival Azeez Solanke of G20 Abuja in the final of the men’s team event with Mati leading the Ondo team to victory to retain their status as the best playing team in the country.
