TABLE tennis players hoping to win honours have started thronging the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of the Teslim Balogun Stadium, to be part of the 2011 Asoju Oba Cup, which serves off today.The competition, which has been holding yearly without interruption since its inception in 1968,will have players competing for honours in 17 events.The tournament sponsor, Molade Okoya-Thomas, who said the competition would continue to hold even after his demise, is determined to ensure the game regained its status as one of the top sports in the country.'Talking generally about sports, it is sad to note that Nigeria's flag will not be hoisted at the Cup of Nations to be played in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea next year. To me, we had good individual players but not a team. When you talk of crisis in a team, you would not call that a team,' he lamented.He added: 'Personally, I still believe that we shall qualify for the World Cup to be staged in Brazil in 2014, But I must stress that early preparation is the solution. It is obvious that there has been a decline in sports in Nigeria.'On the solution to the ills of Nigerian sports, he said: 'The answer is simple, we should go back to the grassroots. In my days as a youth in Lagos, many of our then future stars emerged from the boys and girls clubs, Oko Awo, Faji, Kakawa, Olowogbowo, Alakoro, Sabo and Yaba to mention just a few.'Talking of grassroots development of sports, I am happy to note that Lagos State has taken a lead in that direction. I am told that there is an ongoing table tennis weekly league competition in which many future champions, who will do the nation proud are already being produced. Since Lagos State shall be hosting next year's edition of the National Sports Festival, the players who so emerge, shall be ready-made materials for the state.'I confirm that I consider it my responsibility to play my part in the development of sports in Nigeria. Permit me to remind us that my sponsorship of this competition has no political objective. When I hear of players that have passed through the Asoju Oba Championship become stars, coaches and administrators of sports, I feel motivated to do even more. By the grace of God, I will not be tired of staging the annual fiesta for as long as God permits.
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