AFTER six days of topflight squash, the 8th annual Cargolux inter-club squash championship came to an end at the Lagos Country Club at the weekend, featuring the most gripping encounters in the history of the tournament.Haniel Hadison of the Lagos Country Club emerged champion in the Men's category. He defeated Clement Efakporire of Ikoyi Club 13/11, 8/11, 11/9, 7/11, 11/7 in the highly physical final that thrilled the crowded Squash Section of the club to successfully defend the trophy he has won in the last three editions. He cruised to the final by beating Felix Alao of Unilag Senior Staff Club in a semi-final game that was equally engaging.Mike Nwabuzor of the Ikoyi Club, nicked-name 'Tiger' for his striking prowess, trounced Dele Opaola of Unilag Senior Staff Club 11/9, 11/4, 11/5 to win the Veteran category which is meant for players who are 50 years and above.The National U-19 category which is an innovation around the championship produced Abubakar Bala of Niger State as the winner. Bala beat Babatunde Abubakar of Kwara State 11/6, 11/8, 11/4 to clinch the highest prize for the debutant category.Femi Ajagbe, President of the Nigeria Squash Racket Federation (NSRF) expressed satisfaction at the quality of the games played and the turnout of players. He commended Cargolux/Global Cargo Centre for its commitment to the development of squash in the country and applauded the expansion of the tournament to accommodate the National U-19 men's category.'Grooming future champions of the game is heart-warming to the Federation. Sponsors of this competition must be commended for this laudable initiative. It is in conformity with the developmental plan of the Nigeria Squash Racket Federation (NSRF) to take the game to the highest level and also with that of the World Squash Federation (WSF) which is already bidding for its inclusion in the Olympics,' Ajagbe said.Sina Akinfenwa, Managing Director, Cargolux/Global Cargo Centre also expressed delight that the championship that started with only three clubs has continued to improved over the years and is now reckoned with beyond the shores of the country. He commended the enthusiasm of the participants and their show of sportsmanship.'The standard of the games has really improved. We saw the Men's final and also the skills displayed by the U-19 boys. This tells us that there is future for the game in Nigeria,' Akinfenwa mentioned, promising that the next edition would be bigger than this year's.Taye Ige, Chairman of the Lagos Country Club Squash Section, urged senior players to encourage and mentor the junior players who are the next generation of squash players in the country.To demonstrate his commitment towards this, he instantly announced that Ladi Abdulrahman, who is from Kwara Sate and one of the most skillful U-19 players at the tournament, would be under his mentorship. He maintained that he would see the boy play squash at his desired highest level.Cargolux inter-club squash championship is one of the foremost events in the calendar of Nigeria's squash fraternity. World Squash Federation rules are strictly adhered to, while the American scoring system is applied.
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