ITTF CHALLENGE: AMBODE PLEDGES BIGGER TOURNAMENT IN 2019

…As Quadri Emerges First Nigerian To Win Championship


AgegePulse Magazine

Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode on Sunday expressed excitement over the emergence of first Nigerian to win the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Seamaster Challenge, assuring that the State Government would support the tournament in a bigger edition in 2019.

Speaking to journalists after watching the finals of the tournament tagged ITTF Nigeria Open 2018 held at Molade Okoya Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere where Nigerian table tennis star, Aruna Quadri emerged victorious, Governor Ambode said it was gratifying to note the remarkable improvement in this year’s edition of the championship, saying that next year’s edition would be more exciting. 

He said: “This is a major improvement from last year’s competition and again for the very first time in the last six years, we found a Nigerian winning the men’s singles and this brings a lot of excitement for me because I have been supporting table tennis and I know that next year’s tournament will be more exciting than this.



“As a government, we are going to put more support; we put more financial support so that we can attract more people and also encourage more Nigerians to participate. You know we actually gave bonus to Nigerians that have qualified and that is also to encourage more of our own local players to compete internationally,” Governor Ambode said.



He particularly assured that the State Government would put efforts in place to host the tournament in a bigger hall to encourage more participation, just as he assured that the programmes of his administration for sports development in the State were on course.



“We have a master programme to encourage sports in Lagos State and people would see it as it is unfolding. You can see that we are reconstructing Onikan Stadium; we are going to Ajegunle to do another Sports Complex there and I don’t want to overpromise but I can assure that next year, we are going to do this tennis tournament in a bigger hall that can take 16 sets at the same time and also take maybe about 5,000 fans at the same time,” Governor Ambode said.



Quadri emerged victorious after defeating his opponent from France, Harchard Antoine to win $5,000. The Nigerian also won another $200 courtesy of the fair play award which was also awarded to him.



Also, the best Nigerian home-grown player of the tournament, Jamiu Anyawale was rewarded with cash gift of $200.



Responding, Quadri thanked the fans who supported him all the way to win the tournament, saying the victory could not have been possible without their support.



“If not for my fans that supported me all the way, this victory would not have been possible and so I want to thank the people for standing by me,” Quadri said. 



Antonie, who is from France, was rewarded with $2,500 for emerging as the first runner up of the men’s singles, while Guo Yan from China went home with $5,000 for winning the women’s singles. Her fellow compatriot, Sun Chen was awarded with $2,500 for emerging as the first runner up of the women’s singles.





SIGNED

HABIB ARUNA

CHIEF PRESS SECRETARY

AUGUST 12, 2018

Investment in sports crucial to winning competitions - Ambode

 ITTF Nigeria Open: We are very happy to have hosted this competition - Gov. Ambode

…Pledges to increase price money for ITTF Nigeria Open

Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode on Sunday identified the right investment in sports as the necessary impetus that can bring about good performance of Nigerian athletes in sporting competitions, saying that it was time for the country to focus in such direction.

Governor Ambode, who made the reamrks while speaking to journalists at the end of the Seamaster ITTF Challenge Nigeria Open held at the Molade Okoya Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, tagged Lagos 2017, said government and all the necessary stakeholders must now invest more in sports to take the country to its rightful place in the world of sports.

He expressed excitement at the successful hosting of the tournament which attracted Table Tennis stars from 22 countries, saying that the development was gratifying and in line with his vision to use sports as a catalyst for growth and development of the economy.

He said: “We are very happy to have hosted this competition. This is the fourth edition and you can see that this year's competition has actually attracted more people and then more countries. The idea is to use sports as a catalyst for the growth and development of the economy.

“It is also a catalyst for tourism and it is my strong believe that we must continue to support sports as a means of allowing us to develop the mental capabilities of younger ones and Lagos State is ready to do that.”

When asked whether he was disappointed that no Nigerian qualified for the finals of the competition, Governor Ambode said on the contrary, he was not disappointed but that the development called for greater investment in sports in the country.

“I am not disappointed at all about that. It’s called Nigerian open and so it’s open to everybody and again we had Nigerians in the semifinal. So, we need to do more work and then more coaching and also develop sports. Government has to support sports thoroughly if you want to see Nigerians in the finals.



“I mean you can see the level of skill-set that the Egyptians displayed here and if we say we are giant of Africa, we have to prove it in all ramifications. So, my believe is that government has to spend more time and money in developing sports in this country,” Governor Ambode said.

Speaking on plans for the competition next year, the Governor promised to increase the price money and also the number of participating countries, saying that as the destination for sports in Africa, Lagos must lead the way in promoting sporting tournaments.

“For me, I am going to scale up the price money to attract more people to come for this competition. So next year, you will see more price money and then more countries participating in the competition. Lagos is the destination for sports in Africa and that is the only way we have to go,” the Governor said.

The overall winner of the competition, Assar Omar from Egypt, went home with $5,000, while the first runner up,Gandhi Sarthak from India went home with $2,300.