Ping Pongers Jostle for Top 16 at Lagos Table Tennis League

The jostle for places in the top 16 grand finale of the Lagos table tennis league will hold today at the Mobolaji Johnson Sports Complex, Rowe Park in Yaba.

The eight-week tournament will climaxed on Friday with the top 16 players vying for the jackpot of the championship.

The week seven taking place today will serve as the final chance for players to secure places in the grand finale.

According to the technical coordinator of the competition, John Peters, some players have already booked their spots in top 16.

"The league has been very competitive in the last six weeks with each week producing different winners and this has shown that all the players have the potential to become champions.

We are happy that the league has really brought out the best in the players which became obvious during the just concluded Asoju Oba Cup with most of the top players being edged out by upcoming ones," Peters said.

The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) umpire revealed that players like Kazeem Makanjuola, Ayo Omotara, Kazeem Adeniyi, Ganiyu Ashimiyu and Jide Ogidiolu for the men’s event, while Fatimo Bello, Tolu Durosimi-Etti, and Bose Odusanya have berthed in the last 16.

Peters, however, lauded the State Government for initiating the league, saying, “This would surely help the players and aid the growth of the game in Lagos and Nigeria in general.”

For the men’s event, the fight for the title will be highly competitive with Ashimiyu and Adeniyi affirming their readiness to claim the overall title.

In the men’s event, no single player has claimed the title twice, while in the women’s event, the duo of Bello and Durosimi-Etti have won the title twice with the grand finale promises to be exciting.

To add glamour to the grand finale tomorrow, fans that will grace the competition will have opportunity to win fantastic prizes at the occasion.
These will include Blender, Electric Fan, Electric Iron and 10 match tickets for Copa Beach Soccer finals on 18th December, 2011.