3rd Lagos Valuejet Para Table Tennis Open Starts Today

The 3rd edition of the annual Lagos Valuejet Para Table Tennis Open is to kick off from this morning at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos.

Top players including Paralympians are expected in 45 events at the three-day championships aimed at shaping up the players for major competitions like the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

According to the Chairman of Para division of the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF), Anderson Bankole, the tournament has again proved that Nigeria has the talent to compete with the rest of the world considering the performance of the country at global tournament.

Specifically, Bankole who is also a member of the ITTF Para Commission, lauded the sponsors Valuejet for keeping faith with the tournament amidst the global meltdown necessitated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I am happy that we are having this tournament again this year especially with what our players did at the ITTF tournament in France. Now with this kind of competition, our players will be able to compete against themselves and it will also help us to rank our players. I am also happy that Valuejet has decided to remain committed to the sport and I hope others will take a cue,” Bankole said.

The Executive Chairman of Lagos State Sports Commission, Sola Aiyepeku, reaffirmed the commitment of the state to supporting the athletes while urging them to aim high and continue to work harder in their bid to become world-beaters.

The tournament ends on Saturday December 18 and it is organised by the Sunday Odebode Sports Foundation with technical support from NTTF in collaboration with the Lagos State Sports Commission.