Abdulfatai Dethrones Kuti as Ayoola Wins Daniel Ford Elite Youth T’tennis Championships

For the first time in two years, Matthew Kuti was dethroned as the national champion at the 2nd Daniel Ford Elite Youth Invitational Table Tennis Championships. Rabiat Ayoola also emerged as the new U-19 girls’ champion over the weekend.

The two-day tournament, organised by the Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTTF) and funded by UK-based real estate firm Daniel Ford International, founded by Yemi Edun, saw 75 top players nationwide compete.

After a successful two-day coaching clinic to hone skills ahead of the tournament, U-19 boys defending champion Kuti aimed to become the first player to claim back-to-back titles.

Despite taking a 3-1 lead in the final, his efforts were thwarted by southpaw Abdulfatai, who fought back to claim a 4-3 victory (7-11, 10-12, 11-8, 8-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-9) to the amazement of fans at Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium.

In the girls’ U-19 final, Ayoola also fought back from the brink of defeat to beat Aishat Rabiu 4-3 (11-9, 8-11, 14-16, 8-11, 11-2, 11-5, 11-4) and become the new champion.

In the girls’ U-15 final, Abia State claimed their first national title after Chinenye Okafor beat Ifeoluwa Ajasa of Lagos State 3-2 (11-5, 11-9, 11-13, 9-11, 11-6). In the boys’ U-15, Abdulamid Adebayo of Lagos stunned Samuel Dada of Kogi 3-2 (4-11, 6-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-7) to become the new boys’ champion.

A relieved Abdulfatai described his win over Kuti as his first triumph over the national champion in all their meetings, praising the sponsor for keeping faith with the tournament.

Chairman/CEO of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the special guest at the grand finale, lauded Edun for investing in youth development through sports.

She called on other Nigerians in the diaspora to take a cue from the real estate expert. “I commend Yemi Edun for returning home to sponsor this kind of tournament that helps unearth talents. I appeal to other Nigerians in the Diaspora to emulate him by seeing what they can do to help our youths in the country,” she said.

Edun expressed his commitment to the tournament’s growth, with plans to support the players in their quest to become world-class table tennis athletes.