Teenagers from Abia State won the Edem Offiong mini competition, which recently ended and was held yesterday at UJ Esuene Stadium in Calabar.
Children from five states—Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, and Rivers State—between the ages of 7 and 16 competed in the three-day table tennis event in a variety of categories.
The Offiong Edem Foundation funded the third in a series of mini-tournaments.
By a score of three sets to two, Chineye Okafor of Abia State defeated Esther Ekok of Cross River in the championship match.
David Uche of Abia State triumphed in the Under 14 Boys division by defeating Daniel Ekok of Cross River in three straight sets.
Idoreyin Udoka of Cross River State won the Under 17 Girls division by defeating Vivian Oku, who is also from Cross River, by a score of three sets to two.
In the Under 17 Boys division, Bayelsa State’s Mathew John beat Cross River State’s Bright Joel by a score of three sets to two.
Ifeoma Isaac, the head coach of the Abia State Table Tennis team, applauded the idea to hold the competition, noting how it had inspired the kids.
She said that Cross River State has always been the home of table tennis and that the sport is in need of funding despite the zone consistently producing champions.
Offiong Edem, a four-time Olympic winner who now competes in professional table tennis in Spain, stated that she has sponsored the event for the last three years as a means of giving back to the community and to help the nation find and support future stars in the sport.
