It was sweet revenge for the duo of Matthew Kuti and Sukurat Aiyelabegan, as they reclaimed the titles they lost in 2024 to Abdulbasit Abdulfatai and Kabirat Ayoola at the Third Daniel Ford Elite Table Tennis Tournament, held at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium.
 
The finals, which were colourful and well-attended, had in attendance Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State and Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman of the Nigeria Diaspora Commission (NDC). The climax of the tournament lived up to expectations, with sponsor Yemi Edun reaffirming his commitment to staging the competition yearly.
 
Kuti was flawless throughout, delivering near-perfect performances from the group stage to the final, where he dominated Muiz Adegoke 4-0 to reclaim the boys’ U-19 title. With this victory, Kuti has now won the category twice in the last three editions. Similarly, Aiyelabegan defeated Khadijat Okanlawon 4-0 to secure the girls’ U-19 crown, also her second triumph in three years.
 
In other categories, Chinenye Okafor of Abia State retained the girls’ U-15 title and was named Most Valuable Player (female), while Habeeb Adebayo clinched the boys’ MVP award alongside the U-12 boys’ title. Elizabeth Emelike of Abia emerged champion in the girls’ U-12 singles, and Joseph Marvellous of Kogi defeated Umar Ayoola of Lagos 3-0 to win the boys’ U-15 title.
 
Governor Sanwo-Olu, who served as the special guest, praised Edun for his foresight in sponsoring the tournament with the aim of discovering grassroots talent. He also urged athletes to embrace discipline, hard work, and to avoid doping.
 
“We must commend Mr Yemi Edun for keeping faith with the tournament over the past three years. This is what we lack in grassroots sports development. We must also thank the President of the African Table Tennis Federation (ITTF Africa), Wahid Enitan Oshodi, for his commitment to the sport and for being a worthy ambassador of Nigeria and Lagos globally. I urge players to imbibe virtues that will help them succeed and avoid vices that could jeopardise their future,” he said.
 
Edun, thrilled by the players’ performances, promised to continue improving the quality of the tournament, with hopes that more talents will emerge to represent Nigeria in the future.