Lagos Table Tennis Team For Training Tour Of China.

In a bid to expose its players to top flight training as well as improve their playing prowess in readiness for the 18th National Sports Festival tagged Eko 2012, the Lagos State table tennis team is embarking on a 10-day training tour of China with a team of twelve table tennis players and three years.

 The table tennis players are, Ayo Omotara, Olajide Omotayo, Azeez Ogunlade, Hammed Adeyinka, Ganiyu Ashimiyu, Mojeed Olayiwola, Bose Odusanya, Aminat Fashola, Funke Hassan, Fatimo Bello, Sidikat Yaya and Ayo Udoh.

The coaches are Dele Olasumbo 'Malawi' and Michael Oyebode.

 The trip is being bankrolled by Lekki Free Zone Development Company and it was made possible following the partnership between Office of Sports, Lagos State Ministry of Youth, Sports and Social Development and Corporate Leisure Limited.

 The 15-man delegation will be led by the technical director of the Lagos State Table Tennis Association, LSTTA, John Peters, an international referee, twelve tabel tennis players of six male and six female ping pongers, two coaches and the technical director.

 The team is expected to depart the country on Sunday aboard an Ethiopia Airlines en route Addis Ababa to Beijing with the training commencing of September 10 at the Chinese National Training Centre in Hebei, China.

For the Lagos State Commissioner for Youth, Sports and Social Development, Wahid Enitan Oshodi, the state would remain grateful to the sponsors as the gesture would help to expose the young players to world class training in the home of the game and indeed help their career and be beneficial to the nation.

 "We are grateful to our partner, Corporate Leisure Limited for their effort to secure this sponsorship and we hope other corporate bodies will emulate this.

This will surely be beneficial to the players because they are among the youngest players in the country and going to train at the home of table tennis will indeed help their career and be beneficial to the country," Oshodi said.

The commissioner added: "In the light of the woeful performance of Team Nigeria at the London Olympics, I think this is kind of programme the country should embrace by getting more corporate bodies to support sports so that we can get back to our rightful place in the world.

For the players and the state, I think the training will put them in top shape for the National Sports Festival."