Nigeria’s Adeyinka Dismisses Assar’s Threat.

Following the confirmation of African Champion, Egypt’s Omar Assar, for the first Lagos International Table Tennis Classics, Nigeria’s national champion, Hammed Adeyinka has dismissed the threat the Egyptian would run over other players at the tournament.

Adeyinka, who will be featuring in his first international tournament at this weekend’s Cameroun Invitational Championship holding in Yaoundé, said he was confident that the Egyptian would not find it easy at the competition.

“I have a lot about Assar but I also want him to know that he must have also heard a lot about me being the current Nigerian national champion. We have not met before and I believe this will be to my own advantage. I know that he will find it easy with most of the Nigerian players because we are fully ready for the championship as we are all roaring to go,” he said.

The triple gold medalist at the last National Sports Festival tagged Eko 2012, however, acknowledged the quality of Assar, saying, “He (Assar) is indeed a good representative of Africa having won series of competitions and I am looking forward to test might with him in Lagos,” Adeyinka said.

For Adeyinka, the staging of the tournament would surely impact positively on most of the Nigerian home-based players, as the dearth of tournaments has affected the fortune of the players as well as the country at global competitions.

He said: “I am happy that this tournament is coming at this time especially for most of us who are yet to feature in any international competition. I am happy and I believe the Cameroun tournament would prepare me for the classics.”

Players within and outside Nigeria have started registration for the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) and Africa Table Tennis Federation (ATTF) approved tournament holding at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium from August 26 to 31.

The deadline for players’ entry has been fixed for August 13, while qualifying matches in all events for Nigerian based players hold on August 22 to 23.
  It is the highest prize money table tennis tournament in Africa, organized by the Main Organising Committee (MOC) of Lagos International Sports Classics in collaboration with the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF).