The seventh edition of the Adegboyega Efunkoya National Cadet Table Tennis Championship will be held from August 11 to 15 in Lagos.

The event will take place at the Indoor Hall of the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.

The annual championship is organised by the Efunkoya Sports Foundation in partnership with the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF).

The chairman of the foundation, Femi Olugbile, disclosed this in Lagos on Thursday.

He said the event continued to serve as a platform for discovering and developing young table tennis talents in the country.

Mr Olugbile said many players who recently represented Nigeria at the ITTF Africa Youth Championships and Cup in Accra, including Matthew Kuti and Favour Ojo, began their careers through the championship.

The chairman said Mr Kuti had since progressed to become a member of Nigeria’s senior national table tennis team.

He said the tournament remained focused on discovering and grooming future stars while also encouraging participants to combine sports with education.

According to him, the championship is not only about competition but also about player development through a training clinic, which has become a regular part of the programme.

“Our focus is on development because identifying players early allows us to give them the skills they need to succeed.

“This year, we are placing special attention on female players because Nigeria’s women’s team has fallen behind other countries in Africa.

“The first two days of the programme will be dedicated to intensive training under qualified coaches,” he said.

Mr Olugbile also stressed the importance of combining sports with education.

“We want to produce educated champions. The era of abandoning education for sports is over.

“Some of us combined both successfully, and that is the example we want these young athletes to follow,” he said.

He added that a mentorship programme would be held alongside the training clinic from August 11 to 12, where professionals from different fields are expected to guide and inspire the young athletes.

The championship proper will begin from August 13 to 15, with U-15 players from across the country expected to compete for honours in the annual grassroots tournament. 

(NAN)