Abdulazeez, Olufunmilayo, Others Win Prime Atlantic Squash Tourney
Rofiat Abdulazeez won the women’s category at the third edition of the Prime Atlantic Squash tournament which was held at the Teslim Balogun Stadium Surulere Lagos.
She defeated Busayo Olatunji 3-0 to clinch the title for the second consecutive time she has proven to be a force to reckon with as she defeated her closest rival.
“Do not let the aggregate result fool you, it was a tough match, Busayo is a tough player, she gave it her best shot, and then again the injury to her eye must have slowed her down.
Olatunji said she would train harder for the next tournament.
Gabriel Olufunmilayo finally got compensated at the men’s final with a flawless 3-0 win against a strong competitor Kehinde Samuel, after Olufunmilayo narrowly missed winning the trophy at the 2023 edition.
Unfortunately for Shuaib Giwa, he was unable to defend his title, Mathew Yusuf came prepared and hijacked the best U 19 player title having won 3-0
“I’m super happy to have won, I worked very hard and the result is evident, my opponent did play well but having lost last year I didn’t want to experience that feeling again.
” Kudos to our sponsors, The Prime Atlantic tournament is one of the tournaments I look forward to and it keeps getting better yearly,” he said.
Ayo Otuyalo, the Group Managing Director of Prime Atlantic Limited said the brand will continue to sponsor squash competitions as one of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CRS), for grassroots development.
He also commended the players that competed in the 2024 Prime Atlantic Lagos Squash Championships as the competition draws curtains, he said that the competition has lived up to the expectations and to their delight and satisfaction.
“We are proud to commit our resources to sponsoring the championship, it is part of our social responsibilities that we give back to the society.
“The junior players for me showed that they have come of age and cannot be underrated in terms of the knowledge of the game.
“This shows that the coaches have been doing great in impacting the young lads in understanding the skill of the game.
“This is the third edition and we will always be back come next year to organise another event to develop the players and keep them active in the sport,” Otuyalo said
Similarly, Boye Oyerinde, President, of the Nigeria Squash Federation said that the future is bright for squash in Nigeria.
He said that over the last three editions of the Prime Atlantic Squash tournament, more players have come on board to prove their skills and showcase their talents.
Oyerinde also said that more competitions of this nature need to be organized to keep the players active all year round and to help them acquire points.
He gave kudos to the sponsors for backing the event and also applauded the players for stepping up their games
“It has been an exciting week of good competitive squash matches, we want to thank the sponsors, Prime Atlantic for supporting the initiative.
“A lot of youngsters have been discovered in the competition, we are confident that the future is bright as the young players displayed credible knowledge of the game,” Oyerinde said.
The competition which served off on July 15 ended on July 20 at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere Lagos had players compete for honours in the U-16 girls and boys category.
It also had players competing for honours in the men’s and women’s categories.
Ahisat Abdulraheem crushed Zainob Ishola 11-8, 11-5, 12-10 to win the U-16 girls’ final and went home with the first-place medal, trophy and cash prize.
Abdulraheem said that she looks forward to defending her title come 2025 to defend her title.
“I worked very hard for the competition and I am glad everything worked out the way I planned, I’m looking forward to another competition to prove my worth,” Abdulraheem said.
