The Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) have announced the maiden edition of the National Championship which has been initiated to discover more talents.
There has been an increased interest in the game tennis following the performances of the likes of Aruna Quadri and Segun Toriola at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
The NTTF have now come up with the idea of a National Championship which will kick off on Tuesday, November 15 to Saturday 19.
According to the NTTF, players who register for the championship will compete players for 18 titles in five various categories.
“The Federation is also seeking the next generation of national team players at both senior and junior levels. We must have players ready to challenge and take over from the likes of Segun Toriola,” president of the NTTF, Wahid Oshodi said in a statement.
“Our junior team has done exceedingly well over the last couple of years but we have discovered new very young players at our U-16 League and during the Premier Lotto Nigeria Open and this will be another opportunity for our coaches to assess them. We need to keep the players busy.
“We still have a busy schedule after the Olympics until the end of the year with the African Senior Championships, World Junior Championships, Clubs League, second phase of the U-16 League and the Presidents Cup, so we must continue our development and ensure we have programmes to develop our players, coaches, administrators and umpires.”
The director of the championship, John Peters says the tournament is another opportunity for players to showcase their skills as well as play themselves into the national team.
“After the performance of Aruna Quadri at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, it is clear to us that with more efforts we can produce more Quadri that will stun the world. This national championship is another platform that our players have to prove their mettle and we are set to ensure that it is of a high standard,” Peters also said in the statement.
