Diya, Banjoko win table tennis tourney

Jide Diya and Yewande Banjoko have won the men and women’s categories of the Bluechip Technologies Table Tennis Premier Tournament, which ended at the Ikoyi Club at the weekend.

Diya beat Gbenga Fetuga to win the crown in the man’s singles class, while Banjoko defeated second-placed Chinwe Igwe to win the women’s title.

The winners got trophies and cash prizes in different categories of the championship.

Speaking at the closing ceremony, chairman of Ikoyi Club Table Tennis Section, Dare Olude, enjoined the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation, corporate bodies and governments at all levels to invest in more grassroots championships, especially in schools, to discover young aspiring talents who would take over from the current top stars when they retire.

Olude said Ikoyi Club is at the forefront of creating awareness for table tennis, adding that it organised the Bluechip Championship to promote social interaction and also create the spirit of competition among members.

“The Bluechip Technologies Table Tennis Championship was successful as over 70 players, made up of men and women, participated in the event.

“The Ikoyi club Table Tennis Section’s objective is to keep promoting the growth of the sport in Nigeria because in the country today, you see more of football, basketball and athletics grassroots championships.”

There are not much table tennis championships in schools and if young talents are not discovered to take over from the already existing stars when they retire, the game will die in Nigeria.

“We are at the forefront, championing the growth of table tennis. We have state of the art facilities in the Table Tennis Section to grow the game and groom talents,” he said.

Also speaking at the event, Bluechip Technologies CEO, Kazeem Tewogbade, said that his main objective of sponsoring the table tennis tournament is to help develop and encourage the growth of the sport in Nigeria.

Tewogbade called on other corporate organisations to contribute their quota to the country’s sports development.