22 Schools Begin Hostilities At Karunwi Table Tennis Tourney

Out of the 25 schools scheduled to take part in the maiden Adeyemi Karunwi Trust table tennis championship, 22 of them showed up yesterday for the competition holding at the Mobolaji Johnson Sports Centre, Rowe Park, Yaba.

According to the technical coordinator of the tournament, John Peters, the students really showed enthusiasm to be part of the championship considering the interest shown by the participating schools.

“We are happy that majority of the teams expected at the championship showed up yesterday and this goes to show that schools are ready to embrace the game. Although most of the players will be playing in a standard table for the first time and this alone will bring out the best in them. For us we believe if some of these players are well groomed, they will surely become world beaters in the game,” he said.

The team event kick-started the championship yesterday with the quarterfinal holding today, while the doubles and singles event will serve off today.

A board member of the Adeyemi Karunwi Trust, Adebamike Oloko, who was present to watch the teams yesterday was happy to see some of the players displaying exceptional skills on table.

She had earlier said that the tourney was meant to foster development and empowerment of youths through promotion of such competition in schools across Lagos State. Prior to the staging of the championship, she said the body, in the last two years, has assisted 34 schools in organising sporting events.

The participating schools are drawn from the six education districts of Lagos, with each presenting four teams. The one week competition is being organised in partnership with the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Social Development as well as the Education Ministry.

Awards to be given to the players include, Most Well Behaved School, Most Valuable Player for boys and girls’ events, and cash rewards and trophies