Lagos’ Augustine Emmanuel Retains National Table Tennis Junior League Top Prize

 Chairman of Lagos State Sports Commission, Dr Kweku Tandoh (left) presents a cheque of N250,000 to National Table Tennis Junior champion, Augustine Emmanuel 

The National Table Tennis Junior League ended at the weekend with a Lagos State youngster, Augustine Emmanuel winning the league back to back.

He was the champion of the boys category two years ago when the league was played.

Emmanuel defeated Abayomi Animashaun in the boys final of the 2018 edition of the National Junior League organised by the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF)  in conjunction with WEO All Sports at the Molade Okoya-Thomas  Indoor Sports Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium in Surulere. The finals watched by dignitaries who included the Executive Chairman of Lagos State Sports Commission, Dr Kweku Adedayo Tandoh who was so happy with the performance and display of Emmanuel during his duel with Animasahun. Tandoh in appreciation of the new champion personally doled out the sum of N25,000 as a gift for winning the league.

“This is just a token of appreciation for his effort and good performance. Emmanuel Augustine who won this national junior league is one of our players in Lagos state. I think this token will encourage him and it’s my personal donation to him for topping the league this year, ” the chairman said.

“There has been a wonderful foundation for table tennis in Lagos state over the years and we have been fortunate to have association chairmen in table tennis that were pro active and very positive in their approach. We’ve been able to continue to bring out more players year in year out, developing more players and I must say that we are quite please about the work the coaches are doing and also please with the work the table tennis association are doing in that regard.

“There is a structured development plan for our players in table tennis and right from the cadet to the junior level and preparing them to represent the state at the senior level. If you go to Rowe Park in Yaba everyday, whether there is a competition or not, our table tennis coaches are working with the players. That is why it’s been so easy for us to get our team already prepared for the National Youth Games. Some of the players that took part in this championships from Lagos state will be representing us at the games in Ilorin. So there is a purposeful and development plans, not just to identify and discover new talent but also to nurture them and bring them to the limelight through competition like this and numerous competitions that we also have in Lagos state, ” he said

The new Nigerian National Table Tennis Junior champion, Emmanuel was on top of the world making this feat again, he said: “I’m very happy for wining the tournament. It was a very tough competition but I worked very hard this past week to win the league. I also won it when it was held two years ago. The victory means a lot to me. I want to thank my coaches and everyone that supported me. The Lagos State Table Tennis Association and Lagos State Sports Commission for encouraging the junior players to develop and giving us opportunity to represent the state. “