West Arica’s best table tennis players have gathered in Lagos to battle for honours and over N5 million at the second Senator Abiru Mixed Team Table Tennis Championship, which served off yesterday at the Teslim Balogun Stadium.

The championship holding at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of the stadium is featuring players from Togo and Benin Republic, as well as 28 Nigerian teams in a competition that highlights growing regional interest in the sport.

Participating in three-day event are over 150 players competing in a mixed team format, the organisers said at the unveiling of the competition yesterday.

Sponsored by the SAIL Empowerment Foundation, the initiative of Senator Mukhail Adetokunbo Abiru and his wife, Mrs. Feyisola Abiru, the tournament offers a total prize pool of N5.5 million – a 37 per cent increase from the N4 million awarded in the inaugural 2024 edition.

Speaking at the unveiling of the championship, the sponsor, Senator Abiru, linked the tournament to his broader youth development efforts, which include low-fee centres for training in digital technology, STEM education, creative design, software development and entrepreneurship.

He said: “Our youth development philosophy goes beyond classrooms and computer labs. The discipline, focus, and teamwork that make great innovators are the same traits that define great athletes.

“It was on this belief that we launched the Senator Abiru Mixed Team Table Tennis Championships in 2024, the first of its kind in Africa, as a platform to celebrate excellence, inclusion, and community spirit through sports.”

Abiru described the second edition as a step forward in professionalizing table tennis, saying, “this year’s edition marks an exciting leap forward. The total prize money has been increased by over 37 per cent from N4 million last year to N5.5 million, as a statement of our commitment to rewarding excellence and encouraging professionalism in sports.”

Also speaking on the championship, president, African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF), Wahid Enitan Oshodi, who is also the executive vice president of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), praised Abiru’s ongoing sponsorship, highlighting the tournament’s potential for talent identification.

“We are grateful to the senator for his commitment to youth development and for keeping his promise to stage this event,” Oshodi said, adding, “we hope more stars will emerge from this tournament as we look forward to exciting matches over the next three days.”

Oshodi emphasised the championships’ alignment with global standards, including preparation for events like the 2025 World Mixed Team Cup in Chengdu, China, and called on more Nigerians to support youth sports initiatives modeled after Abiru’s efforts.

Earlier, the organisers had outlined the tournament’s format, which sees 30 teams divided into groups, with the top two from each advancing to knockout stages.