Akanbi eyes third title as Molade Okoya-Thomas Table Tennis contest serves off

The 54th Molade Okoya-Thomas Table Tennis Championship, formerly Asoju-Oba Cup, will serve off today, with the men’s singles defending champion, Rilwan Akanbi, vowing to make it a third title in a row.

The championship, which holds at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium, is the longest sports tournament in Africa. It is organised by Lagos State Table Tennis Association with the support of the Lagos State Sports Commission.

Akanbi, who recently aided Lagos State to a third place finish at the Delta 2021 National Sports Festival, has sent a note of warning to others eyeing his title.
“The Molade Okoya-Thomas Cup brought me to limelight and has also taken me to the national team. I want to ensure I remain relevant and I must do everything possible to retain my title this year.
“In this tournament, you don’t look down on any player because everyone is capable of beating any top player. So, I think the pressure will be on me and I am ready to withstand it and make it the third title this year,” he said.

Speaking on the three-day championship, Deji Okoya-Thomas, whose father started the championship in 1968, said: “We cannot but acknowledge the impact the tournament has had on the fortune of the sport in the country because some of its products have become global stars.
“Of recent is the exploits of teenage sensation, Matthew Kuti, who was impressive in his maiden outing at the African Youth Championship in Tunisia and at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Youth Contender in Cairo, Egypt, where he claimed the U-11 and U-13 titles. This is a confirmation of the impact the tournament has had on the players.”