28th August, 2013
There is no doubt that the maiden Lagos International Table Tennis Classics will be keenly contested going by the quality of players across the world taking part in the International Table Tennis Federation, ITTF, sanctioned championship.
The tournament, the first of its kind on the continent of Africa, has star prize money of $5,000 for the winner in the Men’s Singles, while the Women’s Singles will get the sum of $4,000.
Pundits in the ping pong game see this star prizes as a huge amount of money in a table tennis championship, not only in Africa, even in the western world.
Playing in front of their home crowd will no doubt avoid Nigerian players the chances of showcasing their talent, especially the upcoming players, it will also give the established stars the chances of giving their best. But will this give them the opportunity of winning the dollar star prizes at the expense of the foreign counterparts who are in Lagos not only to enhance their rating on World rankings but win the prize monies as well.
Some of the foreign players are current Africa champion, Omar Assar, Italy’s Mihai Bobocica, Congo Brazzaville’s team led by Nigeria-born Saka Suraju
The Tournament Director, Olajide Oluranti who though as a technical officer of the championship did not want to comment on who wins the tourney, said that he believes in the capabilities of the local players to rise to the occasion when the needs arise.
“I’m close to many of the players and I also know that when it comes to big money like this, an average Nigerians would want to fight to the end to win it. So We have a lot of them who can win the star prizes. Segun Toriola is there, Aruna Quadri is equally good. Funke Oshonaike, Edem Offiong, Janet Effiom and Rasheedat Ogundele are also our good women who can rivals their foreign counterparts for the prize money.
“Among the junior players, we have Kazeem Makanjuola and a host of others who can spring surprises. What I know and I can stand by it is that when the stake is high, our players are good to rise up to the pressure,” said Oluranti.
The Competition Manager, Mr. James Peter was so emphatic in giving Nigerian players good rating in the ongoing championship, saying pundits of the games should not underrate the Nigerian star, especially the established players among them.
“I don’t think players like Omar Assar will have an easy ride winning the tournament,” said the ITTF badge technical officer. “ I could remember that at the last All Africa Games where Assar went on to win the gold medal of the Men’s Singles to become the current African champion, our own Aruna Quadri won the bronze medal of the competition. The gap between Quadri and Assar is not too wide and the two players are here jostling for the star prize. So I think Quadri has advantage of playing in front of his countrymen and women which is a good edge. I don’t say this will intimidate Assar, but it will be a good plus for Quadri and his compatriots over other foreign players.
“However, I believe we’ll witness some upsets in this competition because Nigerian players have this going for them, they are capable of springing surprises when the least expected,” said Peters.
A confident Quadri, rules out the dominance of the foreigners, saying ranking does not matters in the game. He said: “I have played with the world’s best and one of the things I learnt from playing these players was that it is the person that claim the victory that will be rated high. So I don’t want Nigerian players to be scared of the ranking of the foreigners because seeding and raking do not win matches. So for me, I want to urge my compatriot to just give their best and ensure that they train hard in order to do well in the competition,” he said.
“That Egypt’s Assar and other top players are coming will not take the shine off some of us. They are really not spectacular; it is just because they had the opportunity which most of us did not have. We have the potentials to be among the best in the world but the needed support and encouragement in terms of competitions and facilities are not just there. Players like Assar had featured in most of the big tournaments in the world, while some of us hardly attend such events. So it is going to be a tough competition for the foreigners and we will see the best in Nigerian players,” he said.
Apart from winning the dollar prize monies, upcoming players stand to gain a lot from the ongoing tournament. According to the Chairman of the Main Organising Committee of the competition, Mr. Wahid Enitan Oshodi, who said: “We believe that organising this competition will help our players and expose them to other top players from other nations. We are hoping that it will be an annual event will help to improve the lot of the sport in the country.”
An excited President of African Table Tennis Federation, ATTF, Khaled El-Salhy, believes the staging of the tournament would give Nigeria the opportunity to host a major tournament in 2014.
“ITTF/ATTF is looking to organise a brand new event next year tagged “2014 ITTF-Africa Top 16 Cup” which should be in the second half of June 2014 as qualification for ITTF World Cups next year, and we believe it will be good to start this competition in Nigeria. As I am hoping for a successful 2013, as well as envisaging that the Lagos International Classics will be among the ITTF World Tour Calendar in 2014 and this is to prove to ITTF that Africa could host sanctioned events in a professional way.”
The Egyptian star was so excited with the organisation of the tournament and the enthusiasm of the Lagosians have for table tennis. he said “It is a very good experience for me to be in Nigeria because this is my first time. I like it so much because I admire the people as well as the organisation of the tournament and I wish also to come to Nigeria every year to perform.
“The prize money is fine but that is not the reason why we are here because we could find a very higher prize money tournament elsewhere. The reason is to be closer to the African people because we are African people. We have to communicate and be closer and I am excited that I will play the doubles and mixed-doubles with African and Nigerian players because they are my friends.”
In the words of Italy’s Mihai Bobocica, he said: “I am looking forward to going as far as possible maybe up to the final and playing with Assar, but I know it will be very difficult because Nigerian players are very strong.
“I would like to meet Assar because I know the Nigerian players are very strong, so first I must see them, if everything would be okay maybe then I can meet Assar in the final.
“I have played against some other Nigerian players but not against Segun Toriola and Aruna Quadri but against some other players like Michael Oyebode, who plays in Italy.
“For sure Aruna, Toriola and others will be threats but I don’t know them. I am sure that they are very dangerous because Nigerian players are very good with support from the fans will be helpful to them too.”
—Taiwo Adelu