Matthew Kuti and Sukurat Aiyelabegan have reclaimed the titles they lost in 2024 at the third Daniel Ford Elite Invitational Table Tennis Tournament in Lagos.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports the competition held at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall, Teslim Balogun Stadium, drew young talents from across the country.
The colourful finals attracted Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State and Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman of the Nigeria Diaspora Commission.
Sponsor, Yemi Edun, reaffirmed his commitment to hosting the tournament annually, saying the competition’s growth reflected rising interest in grassroots table tennis.
Kuti delivered a dominant run, beating Muiz Adegoke 4-0 in the final to reclaim the boys’ U-19 title after near-perfect performances throughout.
The victory marked Kuti’s second U-19 triumph in three editions of the championship.
Aiyelabegan also impressed, defeating Khadijat Okanlawon 4-0 to secure the girls’ U-19 crown, her second win in three years.
In other results, Chinenye Okafor retained the girls’ U-15 title and won the female Most Valuable Player award.
Habeeb Adebayo claimed the boys’ MVP award and the U-12 boys’ title, while Elizabeth Emelike won the girls’ U-12 singles crown.
Joseph Marvelous of Kogi defeated Umar Ayoola of Lagos 3-0 to claim the boys’ U-15 title.
Speaking with NAN, Edun said his passion for grassroots sports inspired the sponsorship of the tournament.
“I grew up around this venue and watched competitions here. I was never a great athlete, but I enjoyed watching others excel,” he said.
Edun described table tennis as a strong grassroots sport capable of grooming young champions more effectively than many team sports.
After nearly 30 years in England, he said supporting youth sports was his way of contributing to Nigeria’s development.
“The vision is to nurture players who can represent Nigeria and follow the path of stars like Aruna Quadri,” Edun added.
He described the third edition as an improvement, expressing hope of discovering talents to develop over the next two to three years.
Governor Sanwo-Olu praised Edun’s foresight, urging athletes to embrace discipline, hard work and avoid doping.
“We must commend Yemi Edun for keeping faith with this tournament. This is what grassroots sports development requires,” the governor said.
