The annual Micheal & Felicia Alabi Memorial Championship has been upgraded by the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) as a national ranking event.
With arrangements in top gear for the 4th edition of the yearly championships organised by the Osun State Table Tennis Association (OSTTA) with technical support from NTTF and supported by Canada-based Jodal Health Care while it is sponsored by the chairman of OSTTA Ayodeji Alabi.
According to the Vice President of NTTF, Adesoji Tayo, this tournament continues to grow in leaps and bounds and it behooves the federation to use such a tournament as a ranking tournament for players across the country.
“We are impressed with what we have seen so far in the competition because most of the players that had won the tournament have found their way into the national team. And for us, we would like to use this kind of tournament to rate our players in the country for subsequent international competitions. We are also hoping that this year will be bigger and exciting considering the performance of most of the players in major international tournaments like the just concluded 13th African Games in Ghana and we are certain that more players will emerge that will be ranked among the top players in the country,” he said.
He however, commended the sponsor for keeping faith with the annual staging of the tournament while urging other corporate bodies and individuals to support table tennis. “We are grateful to the sponsor of the tournament and we hope others will take a cue from Mr. Alabi for his efforts at giving back to the society and identifying with table tennis in the last three editions of the competition. We are sure that more new players will be unearthed and new champions will emerge this year for us to add more players to the national team,” Tayo added.
For Alabi, this year promises to be exciting as the tournament is expected to serve off on April 22 to 26 at Otan-Ayegbaju, Osun State.
“We have concluded all arrangements as regards transportation and accommodation of all athletes and officials who are coming for the event. Hotels have been booked while buses will be provided to convey athletes and officials from their camps to the venue on a daily basis,” he said.
“We have also secured services of security agencies to ensure orderliness and provide adequate security for all visitors and guests. I want to assure you that the competition will be the best ever organized than the previous editions,” Alabi added.
Over 400 players featured at the 3rd edition held at Otan Aiyegbaju, Osun State.
