ValueJet open para-table tennis tourney serves off today

The fourth ValueJet Para-Table Tennis Open tournament will serve off today at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium. The championship ends on December 18.

Athletes fresh from the just-ended National Sports Festival, as well as medalists at the last 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, will converge for the three-day event with mouthwatering prizes at stake.

Speaking on the tournament, Event Coordinator, Sunday Odebode, said over 38 categories will be competed for in the singles, doubles, and mixed doubles, adding that top four players will have opportunity to win cash prizes.

He said the goal of the event is to pick athletes that will wear the country’s jerseys at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, France.
“The para-table tennis players made the country proud in Birmingham and we believe this event will provide a good platform for them to test their might against one another and we hope we can pick the team from here. ”

“This year, we are excited that our sponsors, ValueJet believes in the players, especially with the performance of our athletes at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. They made us proud, winning two silver and two bronze medals in the table tennis events,” he said.

Odebode added that the championship has provided the platform to identify talents whose inclusion into the national team have strengthened the country’s team to major competitions.

Vice President of the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF), Adesoji Tayo, said the federation will remain thankful to the sponsors, who have continued to be magnanimous to the athletes as a way to encourage the athletes.

“Our sponsors have never stopped supporting the para table tennis team. We are also motivated by the athletes’ performance at the Commonwealth Games because they were the ones that won medals for table tennis in Birmingham. We hope that this year will throw up more talents as we are hopeful that it promises to be exciting,” Tayo said.