9th December, 2010
Former Nigerian table tennis player, Bose Kaffo, says the Asoju- Oba Table Tennis Championship has done a lot to the development of the sport in the country.
The tournament, sponsored by Chief Molade Okoya-Thomas, which holds between 13 and 17 December at the Molade Okoya Indoor Sports Hall of the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, Nigeria enters its 42nd edition this year.
Kaffo told P.M.Sports during the media briefing to herald this year’s tourney that she is proud that the competition helped her discovered her potential in table tennis some years back.
According to Kaffo, who represented Nigeria in five Olympic Games between 1992-and 2008, the tourney has produced many national champions over the years, while it also serves as a form of recreation to Lagosians of all ages and social classes.
Kaffo said: “The Asoju-Oba championship has been a platform, where budding talents are discovered. I want to say that without the tournament, there won’t be Bose Kaffo, Ganiyat Ogundele and others who have brought fame to this country in international competitions.â€
Kaffo, who won 15 medals; seven gold in singles and doubles at six consecutive All-Africa Games from 1987 to 2007, said the game of table tennis has been experiencing a bad fortune in the last few years.
But, she applauded the sponsor of Asoju-Oba, a private citizen, who has single-handedly sponsored the competition.
“The yearly tourney has helped to position the game of table tennis in the right path,†said Kaffo, who won at least a medal at each of the six consecutive All Africa Games she featured for the country.
The veteran told P.M.Sports that she is one of the supervisors for the International Tennis Federation, ITTF, training program for non qualified coaches from 19-21 December in Lagos State.
—Moyoswore Jolaolu
