With the conclusion of the group matches at the 3rd Lagos Valuejet Para Table Tennis Open, today Friday, December 17 will witness the start of the knockout stage with contenders separate from the pretenders.
On the opening, the venue Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun in Lagos was besieged by players drawn across the country including the visiting Benin Republic team competing in the 45 events at the three-day tournament.
The top seeds in each class had an easy passage to the knockout stage while players aiming to upstage the established ones also find their way to the crucial round of the tournament.
One of the top seeds still in contention to retain her title is Ifechukwude Ikpeoyi who vowed to hold on to her title after claiming the gold medal in women’s class five of the champion in 2020.
19-year-old Ikpeoyi who has made it to the top 10 in the world ranking based on her performance in France being her maiden international tournament believes nobody can stop her from mounting the podium again this year.
Bronze medalist at the 2021 French Para Open said she is poised to give her best as more players are eyeing her title this year.
“I am fully ready to retain my title but from what I have seen so far, it is not going to be easy because other players are working hard to displace me. They have seen that I travelled abroad for my first international tournament and they are also keen to start playing at the international level. But I am fully ready for them as nothing can stop me from getting the best medal in my class again,” she said.
She, however, called for more support for the athletes especially in terms of organizing more tournaments that would give the players the chance to showcase their talents to the national handlers. “I believe we can have more of this tournament again early next year because we cannot just be training without competing against ourselves to ascertain our level and quality at international tournaments. I must also commend the organisers and sponsors for deeming it fit to support the staging of the championships this and I hope they have come to stay with para-athletes,” Ikpeoyi added.
The three-day tournament is organised by the Sunday Odebode Sports Foundation with technical support from NTTF in collaboration with the Lagos State Sports Commission and the grand finale holds on Saturday, December 18 with winners carting home mouthwatering prize money in each class.
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