John Peters, Technical Director, Lagos State Table Tennis Association, on Wednesday appealed to corporate organisations and philanthropists who sponsored moribund competitions to revive them.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Peters told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the resuscitation of such championships would facilitate the development of upcoming players in Lagos State and across the nation.
NAN recalls that some of such moribund annual tournaments are: Coscharis in Nnewi, Bournvita, O’Jeez, Daddy London, Arco Petrochemicals and Volkswagen, all played in Lagos.
Peters said the numerous championships in the past through the support of philanthropists and corporate bodies aided the sport’s development.
“The then regular national competitions really helped our today’s professionals. This is why we are urging them to return to the sponsorships.
“There is no other realistic environment that coaches can use to evaluate the progress of athletes, so, it is very important to engage them in constant competitions,’’ he said.
Peters, also an International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) umpire, commended Molade Okoya-Thomas for sponsoring the Asoju-Oba Table Tennis Championships for 45 unbroken years, with mouth-watering rewards for winners.
“Okoya-Thomas’ commitment to table tennis development is worthy of emulation; this commitment sustained the championships for those years and the incentives to winners is commendable,’’ he said.
The technical director advised the athletes that were not privileged to win prizes at this year’s edition, concluded on Nov. 29, to strive to become tomorrow’s champions.
He said the championships were an opportunity for athletes’, especially the young players, to gain the required experience that could help them to build good careers.
“Winning prizes in competitions is a welcome development, but it should not be the focus of upcoming players, rather what they really need at this stage is exposure to hone their skills.
“The Asoju-Oba is the highest championships in Lagos that provides adequate opportunity to expose young athletes because it involves highly competent players,’’ he said.
Peters also advised young athletes to be focused, disciplined, loyal and follow the instructions given to them by their coaches, so as to be able to do well in the sport. (NAN)
